THE Ombudsman should look into the “highly irregular” P60-million advertising deal between the Tourism department and PTV-4, Senator Francis Pangilinan said Tuesday.
He said Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo’s explanation on the issue was unacceptable because the ad was placed in Kilos Pronto, a show produced and hosted by her brothers Ben and Erwin Tulfo.
“The P60-million Department of Tourism ad buy is on its face highly irregular and the Ombudsman should look into it,” Pangilinan said.
“The explanation that the DoT dealt with PTV 4 is unacceptable.”
The Tourism department last year tapped government station PTV-4 to air the ads. The network, in turn, released P60 million to the show Kilos Pronto despite the lack of a memorandum of agreement or contract, the Commission on Audit said.
But Teo said there was no conflict of interest in the deal because her department entered the contract with PTV-4, not Kilos Pronto’s producer. She said it was the station’s own decision to place the ads in her brothers’ show due to its high ratings.
“The contract was between PTV-4 and DOT because it was the President’s [Rodrigo Duterte] request that support the government station,” Teo told reporters.
Pangilinan called her explanation “totally ridiculous.”
“If we accept Secretary Teo’s explanation, then all Cabinet secretaries can now apportion millions of pesos worth of government projects and programs in their respective agencies for their brothers or sisters or their spouses. This explanation is totally ridiculous,” he said.
Duterte has already ordered a probe into the issue. Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the matter had reached the President, and that he wanted to get to the bottom of the issue.
On Monday, Roque said Malacañang would investigate the P60-million advertising contract between the Tourism department and PTV-4.
“I would like to confirm that the Palace is looking into the matter. We will conduct an investigation,” Roque said.
He also confirmed that issue had reached Duterte, who like the Tulfos also hails from Davao City.