Ramon Tulfo denies link to DOT deal

MANILA, Philippines — Media personality and columnist Ramon Tulfo has denied any involvement in the controversial P89.9-million advertisement deal between the Department of Tourism during the term of his sister, Wanda Teo, as DOT secretary and a media outfit owned by their brother Ben Tulfo.

Ramon said he and his other brothers, Raffy and Erwin, were “hurt” by presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s statement telling the Tulfo siblings to return the money that the media outfit received from the government.

“Why not just say it was Ben and Wanda who got involved in the controversy?” he said in a post, written in Filipino, on his website on Thursday.

Ramon added that Teo’s mistake was to be “fooled and persuaded” by Ben’s “sales talk” because she thought the revenue will go to PTV-4 as commercials of the DOT and not to Ben. 

Another mistake Wanda made is to get lawyer and spokesman who is “pulpol” or an idiot. At the time she resigned as DOT chief, her lawyer and spokesman was Ferdinand Topacio.

Ramon also said the lawyer is “the same person who told the media that the Tulfo brothers should return the money.”

“Is he a fool? Why should I return the money that I did not get in the first place?” he said.  

Ramon added that he “built and nurtured the Tulfo name over the years as a hard-hitting, no-nonsense journalist” and “managed to keep his nose clean.”  

He also described his brother Ben as the “black sheep of the family” while he, Raffy and Erwin are the “shy type.”