Members of the group Akbayan rally at the Department of Tourism to call for the resignation of Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo. —EARVIN PERLAS
Bitag Media Unlimited Inc.’s (BMUI) move to return the People Television Network’s P60.01-million payment it received for airing the ads of the Department of Tourism (DOT) is an admission of guilt, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio said on Monday.
Tinio, a member of the progressive Makabayan bloc, issued this statement as he continued to demand the resignation of Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo, who faces conflict of interest accusations.
Teo found herself in hot water after a Commission on Audit report revealed that the DOT “specifically required” the government network to air its advertisements in the afternoon program “Kilos Pronto,” produced by her brother Ben’s media outfit BMUI and cohosted by another brother, Erwin.
Delicadeza
“Returning the money is an admission of guilt,” Tinio said, following the announcement made by Teo’s lawyer Ferdinand Topacio. “It will not erase the accountability of Secretary Teo for the improper transaction. She should still resign.”
Tinio’s fellow Makabayan lawmaker, Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao, said her “admission of conflict of interest” meant Teo should resign “in the spirit of delicadeza.”
Senators Panfilo Lacson and Antonio Trillanes IV were not buying the Tulfo brothers’ return of the ad payment, saying this would not free them from any accountability.
Lacson said if the return of the P60 million was upon the advice of the Tulfos’ lawyer, they should fire the guy.
“Returning the P60 million, being the proceeds of a contract between the ad firm Bitag and PTV 4 but drawn from the budget of the DOT which is headed by their sister, could only mean admission of wrongdoing, albeit impliedly,” Lacson said in a text message.
“It runs counter to their initial reaction that the transaction was aboveboard,” he pointed out.
Other DOT deals
Trillanes said he wanted a Senate inquiry into the transactions of the DOT and he did not want it limited to the advertising budget alone.
Sen. Nancy Binay hailed the decision of BMUI to return the P60 million, but said she still planned to conduct a probe on the advertising deal between the DOT and PTV 4.
Binay, who chairs the Senate’s tourism committee, said the DOT and PTV 4 still have to clarify issues about how it chooses its advertising placements.
As of late yesterday afternoon, Assistant Tourism Secretary Frederick Alegre said the DOT had yet to receive any official word from BMUI regarding the return of the P60 million.
Malacañang declined to comment on the legal consequences of the move of the Tulfos’ media outfit to return the money, adding that only the President can decide if he would allow Teo to stay in the Cabinet.
No impact on Du30 move
“The issue, as far as the President is concerned, is whether or not Teo is staying. And all this will have no impact on the decision of the President,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press briefing.
Topacio told the Inquirer that the Tulfo brothers, who agreed that they would use their own money to return the fund if need be, had made the decision on Monday morning after a “family meeting.”
“[The Tulfos] said it would be the proper and right thing to do under the circumstances,” Topacio said.
The lawyer said Teo remained adamant about the legality of the deal, but admitted that it was an “embarrassment” and reflected badly on both her agency and President Duterte.
According to Topacio, Teo hadn’t ruled out the possibility of resigning, but said she would wait for the result of Malacañang’s investigation on the matter before making a decision. —WITH REPORTS FROM YVINN BORONDIA AND STARLENE PORTILLO