Teo bids farewell to DOT employees: 'My mistake'

MANILA, Philippines — As she bade her former subordinates goodbye yesterday, resigned tourism chief Wanda Teo said it was her mistake that a P60-million ad placement for a television program of her brother on state-run PTV-4 would turn out to be questionable.

“It was a mistake on my part. There were some contracts that I failed to really check, which caused, nagalit yung mga (which enraged) media. I have to take the blame. I have to step down because I don’t want other people to be put to blame,” she said.

The Office of the Ombudsman has begun investigating the controversial advertising deal.

“Being the secretary, it was my command responsibility,” Teo added.

She expressed her gratitude to employees for their support and apologized to those she might have hurt when she implemented a reorganization in her first weeks as tourism chief.

“I felt I wanted to meet up with you, I want to say thank you. It was my pleasure working with you though it was short, but then the experience was great. It was the best thing that happened in my life,” Teo said, receiving resounding applause from the employees.

“If there are people that I hurt, I am sorry. I know you were hurt because of reshuffling, but it was part of the job that I have to do in the beginning. Syempre, ganiyan naman talaga sa gobyerno na dapat ayusin natin (Of course that’s how it is in the government, you need some fixing),” she added.

DOT assistant secretaries Ricky Alegre and Arlen Mancao, as well as undersecretaries Benito Bengzon Jr., Kat de Castro and Marco Bautista also attended the meeting.

Teo resigned on Tuesday after a one-on-one talk with President Duterte at Malacañang. She drew flak for allowing her department’s placement of P60 million in ads for the program of Bitag Media Unlimited Inc. (BMUI) of her brother Ben Tulfo.

Amid the controversy, Teo said she is seeking divine guidance as she is unsure how the issue would unfold.

“I don’t know where this is going to lead me, but anyway, as they said, there is always a reason for everything.  Perhaps God has a bigger purpose for me in this life,” an emotional Teo said.

She shared stories about her and her siblings’ childhood, especially about how their parents raised them modestly. She said her father, a military man, and her mother were always ready to help their neighbors in need despite their modest income. Teo said such readiness to help is something she and her siblings inherited from their parents.

She added that a grandmother who owned a coconut plantation was always on hand if their family needed help.

Teo also recalled having to defend her decision to take her makeup artist and other staff on her travels abroad last year as reported by The STAR. She stressed her workers needed travel perks as they had been with the DOT for years.