MANILA – There was a “possible conflict of interest” when former Department of Tourism secretary Wanda Teo placed her then office’s advertisements on the show of her brother, the Commission on Audit said.
Teo could be held liable for graft for allocating P89.9 million to Kilos Pronto, a show produced by Bitag Media Unlimited, which is owned by her brother Ben Tulfo, and aired on state television PTV-4, the COA said in an audit report.
The amount was part of the Tourism department’s P120-million budget for ads and promotions.
“Considering that the DOT secretary and the producer of Kilos Pronto are siblings, there is a possible conflict of interest, which may be a violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act,” the COA said.
The DOT also failed to comply with its memorandum of agreement (MOA) with PTV-4 when it did not submit documents, such as accomplishment reports and proof of broadcast, to support the P45-million payment to the television station, the COA noted.
Moreover, Kilos Pronto was given undue advantage in the airing of the tourism ad campaign based on airtime schedules provided in the MOA and media plan with PTV-4, added the state auditor.
Kilos Pronto aired 157 six-minute segments and 1,232 one-minute ads whereas other PTV programs only had a combined 576 60-seconder spot placements aside from one travel program, the audit report stated.
“Based on the airtime schedule provided in the MOA and media plan, Kilos Pronto will get most of the cost of airing since the DOT TVC will be frequently aired within their program and it is the only program that will provide a segment for DOT,” the COA said.
“It should be pointed out that PTV has a low viewership as compared to other networks, which could defeat the purpose of increased tourism awareness,” the commission added.
In addition, the Bids and Awards Committee did not conduct a cost-benefit analysis of the agency-to-agency procurement between the two government entities, the COA report further stated.
Teo resigned from the DOT in light of the controversy. She has denied irregularity in the advertisement, saying they decided to air it on PTV-4 to support the state-run TV station./PN
