Former tourism officials led by then secretary Wanda Teo stayed in the five-star hotel in 2018. COA says their expenses were too much.
MANILA, Philippines– Discovery Shores Boracay is in a bind after state auditors told the company that it cannot collect over P456,000 of unpaid bills from the Department of Tourism and was instead told to demand the amount from former officials.
The hotel said that former tourism secretary Wanda Teo-Tulfo, as well as undersecretary Katherine De Castro, assistant secretary Frederick Alegre, Angelito Ucol and Julius Disamburun, stayed in Discovery Shores to attend meetings for the Boracay rehabilitation. The officials were in Boracay from February 28 to March 3, 2018 and April 25 to 27, 2018. The reservation contracts were signed by DOT Western Visayas regional director Helen Catalbas.
“Based on the records, the rate in Discovery Shores is P13,000 per room per night. This exceeds the P400 per day hotel/lodging fees allowed …even assuming that the five DOT officials and employees occupied a single room,” COA said. COA found that while only a few tourism officials attended the meetings, the hotel’s bills showed meals were served for “25 to 35 persons,” with one bill even reaching over P48,000.