Duterte appoints Bernadette Romulo-Puyat as new DOT chief

Agriculture Undersecretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat has been appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to head the Department of Tourism (DOT) following the resignation of Wanda Tulfo-Teo.

Special Assistant to the President Secretary Bong Go confirmed the appointment in a message to Palace reporters on Tuesday night.

Teo stepped down from her post amid controversy caused by the placement of tourism campaign advertisements on the television show of her brothers that run as blocktimers in state-run Philippine Television Network Inc. (PTV).

Her legal counsel Ferdinand Topacio maintained she had no hand in the network's decision to place the DOT advertisements on the programs produced by her brother Ben Tulfo. —Margaret Claire Layug and Virgil Lopez/JST/NB, GMA News