New Philippine tourism secretary named as Wanda Tulfo Teo resigns

09 May 2018 2126 | World Travel News

Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has appointed agriculture undersecretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat as new tourism secretary, replacing Wanda Tulfo Teo who has resigned amid a tourism advertising controversy.

The daughter of former senator and foreign affairs secretary Alberto Romulo, Romulo-Puyat is an economist who taught in her alma mater, the University of the Philippines, and has been with the Department of Agriculture for 12 years.

Bernadette Romul-Puyat (in pink) will replace Wanda Tulfo Teo as tourism secretary (photo credit: Department of Agriculture)

Tulfo Teo, formerly a travel agent based in Davao where Duterte also hailed from, fell from grace with accusations of conflicts of interest and nepotism when the Commission on Audit earlier flagged a 60 million peso (US$1.2 million) deal paid by the Department of Tourism (DoT) for ad placements on the TV show produced and hosted by her brothers Ben and Erwin Tulfo.

Controversies have marred Tulfo Teo’s stint as tourism secretary, including alleged corruption issues and her support for Boracay’s closure without concrete plans for its rehabilitation.