Wanda Teo quits as Tourism secretary

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte greets Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo prior to the start of the 25th Cabinet Meeting at the Malacañan Palace on May 7, 2018. TOTO LOZANO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

Tourism Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo has resigned from office, Malacañang confirmed on Tuesday, May 8.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. confirmed that Teo tendered her resignation to Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea on Monday afternoon, prior to the 25th Cabinet meeting in the Palace.

Roque, however, said that there was no confirmation if President Rodrigo Dutetre accepted the resignation.

In a statement, Teo’s lawyer and spokesperson, Ferdinand Topacio, clarified that the President did not demand Teo’s resignation and that her decision to do so “was purely of her own volition.”

“Her decision to leave her position was made after a long and deliberate reflection and soul-searching with respect to the events that have transpired the past few weeks,” Topacio said.

The resignation came amid the controversy of P60 million paid by the Department of Tourism (DOT) for ad placements on the “Kilos Pronto” program that co-hosted by Teo’s brothers, Ben and Erwin Tulfo, on state-run People’s Television Network Inc. (PTNI).

Teo earlier denied any conflict of interest in the deal, saying that the contract was between the Tourism department and PTV-4, not her brother’s media outfit, Bitag Media Unlimited Inc. (BMUI).

Topacio said Teo reiterated this stand, saying “she has done no wrongdoing, and that all the dealings of the DOT went through all legal processes, were above-board and done in good faith, and with total absence of malice.”

Teo, her legal counsel said, is “honored and privileged” to have served as Secretary of Tourism under the Duterte administration, “where she has done her level best to discharge her duty to promote tourism both domestically and internationally.”

“Secretary Teo wishes to express her gratitude to all those who have stood by her in her trying times – her immediate family and her official DOT Family,” Topacio stressed.

He added that the Tourism chief would continue to help the President’s advocacy for “positive change” even in her capacity as a private citizen.

Aside from Teo, her husband Roberto Teo, also resigned from the board of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) after allegations of nepotism and conflict of interest.

Her brothers, meanwhile, decided to give back the advertising fund paid to them to end the controversy.