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Wanda Corazon Teshiba Tulfo-Teo (; born November 4, 1952) is a Filipino travel agent who served as
Secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...
of the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
' Department of Tourism under the Duterte administration from July 2016 until her resignation on May 8, 2018.


Early life and education

Tulfo-Teo was born Wanda Corazon Teshiba Tulfo in Manila on November 4, 1952, to Ramon Silvestre Tulfo Sr. and Caridad Alvar Teshiba in
Kidapawan Kidapawan, officially the City of Kidapawan (; ; Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Kidapawan''; Obo language, Obo Monuvu: ''Ingod to Kidapawan''; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and the capital ...
,
Cotabato Cotabato, formerly and still commonly referred to as North Cotabato and officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, regi ...
, a housewife, who died in 2024, at the age of 97. She has two sisters and seven brothers,namely Tuchi, Bong, Joseph, Edelle, broadcasters Ramon,
Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett, Benson or Ebenezer, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben meaning "son of" is also found in Arabic as ''Ben'' (dialectal Arabic) or ''bin ...
and Erwin. For her elementary education, Tulfo-Teo attended the Notre Dame of Jolo College in
Sulu Sulu (), officially the Province of Sulu (Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Wilaya' sin Lupa' Sūg''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago. It was part of the Bangsamoro, Bangsamoro Autonomous R ...
and for her high school studies attended Pillar College of
Zamboanga City Zamboanga City, officially the City of Zamboanga (; ; Subanen languages, Subanen: ''Bagbenwa Sembwangan''; Sama–Bajaw languages, Sama: ''Lungsud Samboangan''; ; ; ) is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city i ...
where she graduated from in 1969. She obtained a bachelor's degree in business administration from St. Theresa's College in
Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...
.


Career

Tulfo-Teo has been actively working in the tourism sector for more than two decades. In the 1970s she was employed by airliners and later served posts in various tourism-oriented organizations.


Early years

In the 1970s, she worked as a flight attendant for Filipinas Orient Airways and Air Niugini Airways. In the same period, she also worked as a ground personnel for
Philippine Airlines Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the flag carrier of the Philippines. Headquartered at the Philippine National Bank, PNB Financial Center in Pasay, the airline was founded in 1941 and is the oldest operating commercial airline in Asia. Philippine ...
and was assigned in its ticketing office. From 1980 to 1981, she taught business administration at the
Ateneo de Davao University Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU; ) is a private Catholic basic and higher education institution in Davao City, Davao del Sur, Philippines. It is run by the Philippine Jesuit Province. Before the Jesuits took over administration of the schoo ...
as an instructor and worked as an account manager for GT Philippines from 1980 to 1995. She is the co-owner of a travel agency, Mt. Apo Travel and Tours, serving as its president from 1994 to June 2016, when she divested herself of any involvement in the company following her appointment to the Department of Tourism.


Affiliations

Tulfo-Teo served as president of the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies (NAITAS), the biggest travel agency organization in the country. She is a member of Davao Travel Agencies Association (DTAA), the Davao Association of Tour Operators (DATO) and the Davao Regional Tourism Council (DRTC).


As tourism secretary

Tulfo-Teo was appointed as Secretary of the Department of Tourism by President
Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...
on June 30, 2016, replacing Ramon Jimenez Jr. Teo initially stated that she would change the prevailing tourism slogan coined by her predecessor Jimenez, "''
It's More Fun in the Philippines Tourism is an important sector for the Economy of Philippines, Philippine economy. The travel and tourism industry contributed 8.6% to the country's GDP in 2023; this was lower than the 12.7% recorded in 2019 prior to the COVID-19 lockdowns. Co ...
''", during her term, but she later decided to instead improve on it because of its positive effects that resulted in invaluable tourist arrivals in the Philippines. She said she lacked any credentials and remarked, "I had nothing to show as my accomplishments." As secretary, she was involved in talks to secure the hosting rights of the Miss Universe 2016 pageant which was hosted in the Philippines in January 2017. The DOT under her watch was also involved in talks to host Miss Universe 2018 which was planned to be held in a rehabilitated
Boracay Boracay (; sometimes shortened by non-natives as Bora) is a resort island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located off the northwest coast of Panay, Panay Island. It has a total land area of , under the jurisdiction of thre ...
in November 2018. On May 8, 2018, Tulfo-Teo resigned from her post after the Commission on Audit revealed she directed the placement of P60 million in tourism ads to Kilos Pronto, a blocktimer show on PTV-4, despite lack of a memorandum of agreement or contract. Kilos Pronto is produced and hosted by Teo's brothers Ben Tulfo and
Erwin Tulfo Erwin Teshiba Tulfo (; born October 6, 1963) is a Filipino politician, news anchor and columnist who is a Senate of the Philippines, senator-elect of the Philippines. He has served as the representative for ACT-CIS Partylist and as a deputy maj ...
, both of whom are allied with
Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...
. Teo stressed that she 'did not know' that her own brothers were running the very specific television show she sent P60 million to. The Tulfo brothers afterwards promised that they will return the P60 million of government funds that they received from their sister. However, the siblings later retracted, saying that they maintain their innocence and refuse to return the government funds used in the deal. Tulfo-Teo was succeeded by Bernadette Romulo-Puyat who promised to review the Philippines' possible hosting of the Miss Universe 2018 pageant. Romulo-Puyat dropped the Philippines' hosting bid due to budgetary concerns.


Return to private life

As of June 17, 2018,
Erwin Tulfo Erwin Teshiba Tulfo (; born October 6, 1963) is a Filipino politician, news anchor and columnist who is a Senate of the Philippines, senator-elect of the Philippines. He has served as the representative for ACT-CIS Partylist and as a deputy maj ...
and Ben Tulfo had not yet returned the P60 million in government funds that Wanda Teo gave them during her stint as tourism secretary. On June 28, 2018, the Commission on Audit revealed that resigned tourism secretary Wanda Tulfo Teo and a former Tourism executive took millions worth of
luxury goods In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good (economics), good for which demand (economics), demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a more significant proportion of ove ...
from Duty Free stores in 2017 and charged them as consultancy fees using funds meant for the department's programs. In August 2018, during a Senate hearing, Tulfo-Teo and her siblings, Ben Tulfo and
Erwin Tulfo Erwin Teshiba Tulfo (; born October 6, 1963) is a Filipino politician, news anchor and columnist who is a Senate of the Philippines, senator-elect of the Philippines. He has served as the representative for ACT-CIS Partylist and as a deputy maj ...
, declared that they will never return the money they got from the Department of Tourism, sparking nationwide outrage and backlash.


Personal life

Wanda Tulfo-Teo's four brothers are journalists namely: Ramon, Jr. (Mon),
Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett, Benson or Ebenezer, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben meaning "son of" is also found in Arabic as ''Ben'' (dialectal Arabic) or ''bin ...
, Raffy and
Erwin Tulfo Erwin Teshiba Tulfo (; born October 6, 1963) is a Filipino politician, news anchor and columnist who is a Senate of the Philippines, senator-elect of the Philippines. He has served as the representative for ACT-CIS Partylist and as a deputy maj ...
. Tulfo-Teo's husband Roberto "Bobby" U. Teo is currently a member of the board of directors of LBP Leasing and Finance Corporation, a subsidiary of government-owned bank Land Bank of the Philippines.


See also

* Tourism in the Philippines


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tulfo Teo, Wanda 1952 births Living people Secretaries of tourism of the Philippines Wanda People from Davao City Duterte administration cabinet members Women members of the Cabinet of the Philippines Travel agents (people) Filipino people of Japanese descent 20th-century Filipino businesspeople 20th-century Filipino businesswomen 21st-century Filipino businesspeople 21st-century Filipino businesswomen