SENATOR Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday filed a resolution urging the Senate to probe the P60-million advertising deal between Bitag Media Unlimited Inc. and the Tourism department.
He called on the Senate’s tourism committee to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation into the deal with state-run Philippine Television Network Inc. that went to the advertisements for the show of resigned Tourism chief Wanda Tulfo-Teo’s brother, Ben Tulfo. BMUI received three checks amounting to P60,009,560 for carrying the ads.
Meanwhile, Malacañang has left it to the Ombudsman to determine if resigned Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo and other personalities should be held liable for the P60-million deal between the Tourism department and the state-run PTV.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the Ombudsman would have to look into the deal, which was flagged by the Commission on Audit, to determine if Teo had criminal liability for it.
“It will have to be investigated by the Ombudsman to determine probable cause,” Roque said.
The tourism ads were aired on the news-type magazine program Kilos Pronto, a show produced by BMUI which is owned by Ben Tulfo. The program is also hosted by Ben, his brother Erwin, and broadcaster Alex Santos.
“It can bet surmised that the PTNI brokered ads for its own block timer, which is BMUI,” Trillanes said.
The deal was initially questioned by the Commission on Audit in an annual report that said the transaction between the PTNI, DOT and BMUI lacked supported documents. Trillanes cited this April 27, 2018 report in filing his resolution.
He said PTNI failed to provide a Certificate of Performance that determines the actual airing time and frequency of the actual segments, as well as the Budget Utilization Request. He said the lack of such a document “casts doubt on the legality and validity of the payments made by the DoT and [PTNI.]”
He sought to ensure that the budget allocated to the Tourism department, particularly for its expenditures in advertising and marketing, was “legally and properly disbursed and spent.”
“There is an immediate need to look into the irregularities in the disposition of the [department’s] budget and its expenditures in advertising and marketing in order to ensure that government funds are legally and properly allocated, directed and spent towards the sole purpose for which the funds were allocated,” Trillanes said.
On Monday, Teo’s legal counsel Ferdinand Topacio announced that BMUI had agreed to return the P60 million it received from the advertisement deal.
Senator Nancy Binay, the head of the Senate’s tourism committee, welcomed BMUI’s decision to return the advertisement funds but said the Tourism department and PTNI still needed to clarify the issue.
“Perhaps the [Tourism department] can shed light on the advertising deals the tourism department entered into with PTNI following the Commission on Audit’s findings,” Binay said.
Following the controversy, Teo tendered her resignation on Monday.