MANILA – Broadcast journalist Ben Tulfo said his media outfit would not return the P60 million in payments it received from a controversial advertisement deal with the government.
“Sa mga nagsasabing isauli ang pera at hinihintay daw ang P60M, mamuti na mga mata niyo! Wala kaming isasauli!” the brother of former Tourism secretary Wanda Teo said in a Facebook post dated July 26.
Government-run television station PTV-4 paid P60.010 million to Bitag Media Unlimited, Inc. for the airing of Tourism department advertisements on one of its programs, state auditors said in a 2017 report released in April.
Teo’s lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, had said Bitag Media will return the payment. After his announcement, Teo quit as Tourism secretary.
“Sa mga nagsasabing ilegal at nangulimbat kami, e di sampahan niyo kami ng kaso, tutal nandiyan naman ang COA (Commission on Audit) at Ombudsman!” said Tulfo.
“Ano’ng isasauli? Maniningil pa nga kami dahil may utang pa sa amin ang principal na PTV-4 doon sa kanilang kliyente, ang DOT (Department of Tourism),” he added.
In another report the Commission on Audit noted that Teo may be held liable for graft due to alleged conflict of interest in the airing of her former department’s advertisements.
Tulfo challenged critics to prove there was an irregularity in airing the advertisements.
“Kumpleto kami sa kontrata at mga dokumento,” he said in the same Facebook post. “Legal ang ginawa namin. Na-i-deliver at tinrabaho namin. Gusto niyo ng pruweba?
“Nandito sa amin sandamakmak na mga video na na-i-produce ng PTV-4 na ipinalabas sa Kilos Pronto nationwide, worldwide at sa social media. Patunayan niyo ang sinasabi niyong conflict of interest sa hukuman!” (GMA News)
