De Lima calls for probe on ex-tourism officials

The supposed engagement of Former Tourism Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo and other erring officials in anomalous projects and misuse of government funds while in office must undergo investigation even if they have stepped down from their positions, opposition Senator Leila de Lima said.

The detained senator on Wednesday filed Senate Resolution No. 740 asking the Duterte administration to file charges against the former officials and to look into their “alleged irregular transactions and wasteful spending.”

“The accountability of former Secretary Teo, as well as her undersecretaries and assistant secretaries, for the apparent gross misuse of government funds must not be terminated by the simple fact of their resignation,” de Lima said.

“Their immediate resignation from the service should be of no consequence to the filing of possible charges against them,” she added.

Teo has resigned after the Commission on Audit questioned the placement of P60 million worth of Department of Tourism ads into a television program produced and hosted by her brothers.

De Lima stressed that the newly appointed Tourism Secretary Bernardette Romulo-Puyat has also discovered more irregularities in the agency under the headship of Teo.

“The recent discoveries made by the newly-appointed Tourism Secretary reveal a culture of extravagance and lack of accountability during the tenure of former Secretary Teo,” the senator pointed out.
DAILY NEWS ROUND UP FOR 05/ 23 /18