Palace: Duterte won’t ‘intrude’ on Tulfo-Bautista rift

Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Joselito Bautista (right) and Erwin Tulfo. FILE PHOTOS

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte will not “intrude” on the conflict between Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Bautista and pro-administration radio personality Erwin Tulfo,.

This was stressed by Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo during a Palace briefing Monday, dismissing such rift to be a “personal thing” between the retired Army general and the broadcaster.

“As we’ve said, the President does not intrude into any conflict between two individuals or groups. So we’ll leave it to them. It’s a personal thing between Gen. Bautista and Mr. Tulfo,” Panelo said.

Bautista finally broke his silence Friday and asked Tulfo to prove the sincerity of his apology by admitting his mistake through various media platforms as well as donating at least P300,000 to each of the more than a dozen institutions he enumerated.

READ: Bautista to Tulfo: Prove sincerity, apologize thru various media platforms

Tulfo came under fire recently when he berated Bautista for not granting his request for a live interview over his radio program.

He even threatened to slap the former Philippine Army chief and dunk his head in a toilet bowl should they meet. He later apologized for his “excessive ranting” but said it was his duty to criticize government officials.

Tulfo’s outburst led to the recall of police escorts assigned to him and his brothers. The Philippine National Police has also ordered the surrender of Tulfo’s firearms, saying his license to own and possess firearms already expired in May.

Erwin’s older brother, Ben, joined the fray and slammed the conditions set by Bautista.

READ: Ben Tulfo lashes at demands of DSWD’s Bautista: ‘Daig mo pa si Padre Damaso’

READ: PNP: Tulfo rant led to guards’ recall

Earlier, Malacañang directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to take necessary actions to recover the P60-million ad placement fees paid to Ben’s Bitag Media by the Department of Tourism (DOT) under the leadership of his sister, former Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo.

Asked for an update on the matter, Panelo said: “Either the DOJ or the Ombudsman will be the ones filing the case,” noting that the recovery of the payment will depend on the findings of the investigation.

READ: DOJ ‘ready to act’ on recovery of P60M paid by DOT to Bitag Media

(Editor: Katherine G. Adraneda)