Broadcaster and columnist Ramon “Mon” Tulfo thought that his brother Ben Tulfo was apparently in cahoots with PTV4 officials and Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) on the controversial P60-million worth of advertisements that the Department Of Tourism under the tutelage of DOT Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo, placed in a television program produced by Ben and Erwin Tulfo.
The irregularity which was discovered by the Commission on Audit last April 2018 revealed that the advertisements on the television program on PTV 4 did not have documents showing the payments were valid and legal. Because of this controversy, the public outcry persisted for Teo to step down because of conflict of interest that violated the antigraft law. Teo however insisted that she will not resign because the P60-M ad deal with PTV 4 legal.
The controversy reached President Duterte and eventually, Teo was forced to tender her resignation after a one-on-one meeting with the President.
For Teo’s Brother Ramon Tulfo who explained to THEPHILBIZNEWS, “Ben and Wanda did not commit any crime as the money was used in advertisements for the DOT”. He added, “however, he felt that it hat was wrong for Ben using the unwitting Wanda to bag the P60M advertising contract and Wanda didn’t know Ben would benefit from it.”
For his part, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said to THEPHILBIZNEWS, “President Duterte will allow legal process to proceed against Ben Tulfo and Ex-DOT Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo.”
When Mon Tulfo was asked further about his sentiment on this issue that drags his name and the names of other Tulfos, he said, “Ben has always been a problem. The other siblings-Raffy and Erwin- who have dragged into the mess, can’t say anything to Ben in deference to his age. You see, in the Tulfo clan we follow a military seniority rule. Older siblings are superior to the younger ones.Ben does not follow that rule. He does not defer to me.”
He Added, “Had Ben checked with me before he had Wanda sign the 60M contract, he would have been told it was immoral, although not necessarily illegal, since he and Wanda are siblings.What hurts is that I have built a reputation for probity over the years, although my detractors would controvert that, only to be destroyed by my own who have taken advantage of the good name I have built.”
Just recently, Ben Tulfo, chief executive officer and founder of Bitag Media Unlimited said in a Facebook post that earned the ired of netizens, “Sa mga nagsasabing isauli ang pera at hinihintay daw ang P60 million, mamuti na ang mga mata ninyo! Wala kaming isasauli (To those saying we should return the money and waiting for the P60 million, may your eyes turn white! We will return nothing)”.
In closing, Mon Tulfo told to THEPHILBINEWS, “Ben is very religious. He goes to church every Sunday. He thinks he has not committed any wrongdoing. But millions of people of faith kill in the name of their gods and think they are doing it for their faith.”
