If they all win next year, there will be five Tulfos in Congress at the same time – the three brothers in the Senate, and Senator Raffy’s wife and son in the House
MANILA, Philippines – Congressman Erwin Tulfo officially joined the 2025 senatorial race on Sunday, October 6, filing his candidacy as part of the 12-person slate of the administration coalition Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas.
Tulfo, a new member of Speaker Martin Romualdez’s Lakas-CMD, is the second from his family to formalize their bid for the upper chamber next year, following his brother Ben who submitted his certificate of candidacy (COC) to the Commission on Elections on Saturday, October 5.
The brothers are already the frontrunners in pre-election surveys, so the likelihood of both winning seats is very high. If they do, there will be three Tulfos in the Senate, as Senator Raffy is not up for reelection until 2028.
There are currently three Tulfos in the House: Deputy Majority Leader Erwin, ACT-CIS Representative Jocelyn (Erwin’s brother-in-law and the wife of Raffy), and Quezon City 2nd District Representative Ralph (Erwin’s nephew and Raffy’s son).
Like his brother Ben, Erwin shrugged off accusations that the Tulfos are establishing a political dynasty in the legislative.
“As long as there is no law yet, then we let the people decide. If there’s already a law, then we stop. Political dynasty has been an issue for a long time. I believe it won’t stop until there’s a law,” Erwin said in Filipino.
An anti-political dynasty measure has been languishing since 2001 in Congress, which is composed of members of well-entrenched political families who do not have it in their best interests to pass such a measure. Erwin did not give a decisive answer when asked if he would be willing to push for the ban or regulation of political dynasties.
“If there is a law, then the majority will discuss it. You know it’s a numbers game, right? You may say yes, but your colleagues—majority rules. We’ll look at what the form of the dynasty law will be. If it’s already there, and it seems good and will benefit the people, then why not, right?” he added.
If elected, Erwin said he will prioritize legislation for the middle class.
“They are sometimes forgotten or often left behind because the government is focused on those in the margins. What about those in the middle class? What about the professionals, those just below the middle class, those working in fast food, sales clerks, security guards?” Erwin asked.
“Maybe it’s time we also pay attention to our fellow citizens who aren’t usually noticed—the ones in the middle. Maybe they’re calling for higher wages, more benefits, and I will also introduce, if there’s a chance, retirement benefits for those working in the private sector,” he added.
Erwin has been consistently topping pre-election surveys, but the lawmaker representing party-list group ACT-CIS in the House did not confirm his senatorial aspirations until President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. formally unveiled his senatorial lineup for 2025 in September.
An ally of the President, he was first appointed as Marcos’ social welfare secretary in June 2022, but had to exit the agency in December that year after the Commission on Appointments deferred his confirmation bid twice over issues related to his citizenship and his libel case.
Erwin previously said he had renounced his US citizenship in early 2022. As for the libel conviction, he explained it was about a story he had written about alleged government corruption.
In May 2023, he became a House member, entering Congress through the post-election substitution backdoor route, a method that some election watchdogs had flagged in the past as a way to abuse the party-list system.
Since then, he has filed 120 bills, according to the House website.
Like his two brothers Raffy and Ben, Erwin had a successful career in media, and is known for his public service programs wherein aggrieved ordinary citizens come to his show to seek help. In response, Erwin would confront the subject of their complaint on-air.
That Tulfo brand of journalism had its fair share of criticisms, but its public appeal cannot be denied, especially among those who have lost their faith in the country’s justice system.
In 2019, Erwin made a threat-laden rant via his state-run radio program against then-social welfare chief Rolando Bautista, prompting Erwin to apologize later.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said a the time: “There can be no excuse for Erwin Tulfo’s utter lack of ethics and scruples in publicly insulting secretary Rolando Bautista simply for not being able to immediately answer his demand for an interview.” – Rappler.com
