Graft complaint vs ex-Tourism chief Wanda Teo, Ben Tulfo over ad deal dismissed

The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed the graft complaint against former Tourism chief Wanda Teo, her brother Ben Tulfo, and some officials of state-run PTV over the P120-million ad deal in 2017.

In a resolution dated September 30, the Ombudsman said Teo was "not in anyway privy to" the contract entered into by PTV and Tulfo’s Bitag Media Unlimited Inc. (BMUI) for the promotional advertisement of the Department of Tourism.

“There is no conspiracy… nowhere was it directly shown that Sec. Teo was aware that Kilos Pronto is owned by Bienvenido Tulfo, her sibling. There is also nothing on record showing that then Sec. Teo performed an overt act in pursuance or in furtherance of the supposed complicity,” the Ombudsman said in junking the complaint for lack of probable cause.

In its 2017 audit report, the Commission on Audit (COA) said the memorandum of agreement between the DOT and PTV showed a possible conflict of interest and “undue injury to the government.”

State auditors had also flagged PTV for its payments made to BMUI worth P60 million due to lack of supporting documents.

However, the Ombudsman said the government “got its monies worth.”

“Based on the evidence on record, BMUI through the program Kilos Pronto complied with its contractual obligations even exceeding the airtime as agreed upon. In short, the government got its monies worth. There is no undue injury to consider,” it said.

“Likewise, the services provided by PTV/PTNI in favor of DOT was the most advantageous as compared to other television networks,” the Ombudsman said.

The resolution also said there was no evidence that the COA’s findings had “ripened to a Notice of Suspension (NS) or a Notice of Disallowance (ND).”

“Even granting for the sake of argument that a NS or ND had in fact been issued, there is nothing on record showing that it had gained finality as there are other legal remedies under the COA Rules of Procedure which are available to the respondents,” it said.

“In the absence of proof that the findings of COA in its AOM (audit observation memorandum) have gained finality, the filing of the instant case borders on prematurity amounting to lack of cause of action.”

Aside from the Tulfo siblings, also cleared of graft charges were former DOT executive assistant Arlene Mancao, PTV executives Dino Antonio Apolonio and Ramon del Rosario, as well as administrative officer Ma. Alma Francisco of the Presidential Communications Operations Office.

Teo welcomed the Ombudsman’s decision.

"I am grateful for the resolution of the office of the Ombudsman dismissing all the charges pertaining to the P60 million DOT funds,” she said in a statement.

“This ruling clearly shows that the rule of law and justice is alive and well in this beautiful country,” she added.

Teo quit her Cabinet post in May 2018 amid conflict of interest allegations in connection with the ad deal. She was succeeded by then-Agriculture Undersecretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat. — VBL, GMA News