MANILA — Documents on the PHP60-million advertisement placement deal between the Department of Tourism (DOT) and state-run PTV 4 are already with Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea for examination, Malacañang said Saturday.
This was confirmed by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque after Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go bared it in an interview on Friday.
Roque stressed that although there was no timeline for the review, the Duterte administration moved quickly when it came to investigating allegations against one of its Cabinet members.
“They are already on the table of Executive Secretary (Medialdea) and he is now studying them,” he said in a press conference in Davao City.
Roque, meanwhile, said that he had to check whether Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo’s husband, Roberto, indeed remained as a board member of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), as stated in reports.
Reports, however, said the tourism chief has previously acknowledged that her husband was a TIEZA board member.
On the TIEZA website, Roberto is listed as representative for Travel and Tours Enterprises but was appointed by President Benigno Aquino III on Feb. 14, 2014.
Critics called the two Teos being board members as a conflict of interest.
“I’m not sure if he’s still with TIEZA but I will find out,” Roque said.
Asked if Roberto should resign out of “delicadeza”, Roque said the question better be addressed to the tourism chief herself.
“If we are talking about delicadeza, it’s for Secretary Teo to answer that,” he added.
On Monday, Malacañang assured that it will conduct its own investigation into the controversial ad placement deal.
The COA, in a report published on its website last week, said last year, the DOT paid PHP60 million for the placement of ads in the PTV 4 show “Kilos Pronto”, which is produced and hosted by Secretary Teo’s brothers Ben and Erwin Tulfo.
Its findings showed that there was no memorandum of agreement signed to air the ads.
Teo denied reports that she signed a contract under a production company under her brothers, noting that it was a government-to-government contract that went through bidding.
She said the ad placements were done at PTV-4’s discretion since her brothers’ show had high ratings. (PNA)
