Erwin Tulfo

Erwin Teshiba Tulfo (; born October 6, 1963) is a Filipino politician, news anchor and columnist who is a senator-elect of the Philippines. He has served as the representative for ACT-CIS Partylist and as a deputy majority leader of the Philippine House of Representatives since 2023. He previously served as the secretary of social welfare and development from June 30 to December 27, 2022, when his appointment was blocked and bypassed by the Commission on Appointments, during the presidency of Bongbong Marcos.

After his father died in 1985, Tulfo moved to the United States with a tourist visa and spent a decade as an undocumented worker, which he claimed was done to support his family. A member of the Tulfo family of broadcasters, he was first hired as a news reporter at ABS-CBN upon returning to the Philippines in the 1990s, anchoring various news programs at the network such as ''TV Patrol'' and ''Pulso'' and hosting the shows '' Magandang Gabi... Bayan'', ''Magandang Umaga, Bayan'' and ''Private I''.

He co-hosted PRTV Prime Media's primetime newscast ''Arangkada Balita'' in 2025, alongside Niña Corpuz. He also hosted PTV's primetime news program ''Ulat Bayan'' from 2020 to 2022, as well as one of its AM radio counterparts: Radyo Pilipinas Uno's ''Erwin Tulfo: Live!'' or ''Tutok: Erwin Tulfo'' (2017–2022). On TV5, Tulfo hosted the programs '' Tutok Tulfo'' (2010–2012) and '' T3: Alliance'' (2011–2016), and anchored the news program ''Aksyon'' from 2010 to 2017. He has also previously worked for Radio Philippines Network (RPN) and Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC).

In 2000, Tulfo was convicted of four counts of libel in Pasay for a series of articles he wrote for the tabloid ''Remate'' in 1999 that accused a Bureau of Customs lawyer as an "extortionist... and a smuggler". In 2011, Tulfo was fined ₱10,000 by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) for irresponsible coverage of the August 2010 Manila hostage crisis as host of RMN's ''Radyo Mo Nationwide'', with him admitting to violating police instructions by interviewing the hostage taker while negotiations were ongoing.

Early life

Erwin Teshiba Tulfo was born in Tacloban on October 6, 1963, He has eight siblings, among whom include Tuchi, Bong, Joseph, Edelle, Ramon, Ben, and Raffy Tulfo, who are all his fellow journalists. His brother, Raffy, is an incumbent senator, while his sister, Wanda Corazon Teo, was a tourism secretary during the Duterte administration.

During his unsuccessful 2022 congressional confirmation hearings for secretary of social welfare and development, Tulfo was alleged by representatives Oscar Malapitan and Rodante Marcoleta to have served in the United States Army from 1988 to 1992 and assigned on a tour in Europe from 1992 to 1996. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of the East in 2005. He is the host of his public service brand Mission X, which eventually evolved into the Erwin Tulfo Action Center.

Political career

In 2022, Tulfo was appointed secretary of social welfare and development by then-President-elect Bongbong Marcos in May 2022. However, on December 27, 2022, his appointment was blocked and bypassed by the Commission on Appointments due to citizenship issues.

On May 30, 2023, Tulfo took oath as a representative of ACT-CIS Partylist, a week after a disqualification case against him was junked by the Commission on Elections. On July 20, 2023, Comelec issued a certificate of proclamation to Tulfo, naming him as the third nominee of ACT-CIS, replacing Jeffrey Soriano, who had resigned in February 2023. Tulfo took oath once again as a partylist representative on July 31, 2023, and was named as a House Deputy Majority Leader on August 9, 2023.

On September 26, 2024, Tulfo was officially introduced as part of Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial slate for the 2025 Senate election. Tulfo later filed his candidacy to run for senator on October 6, 2024. He was elected and placed fourth.

Controversies

In 2008, Tulfo was found guilty by the Supreme Court of the Philippines of four counts of libel and was sentenced to pay a fine of for each count and, along with his co-accused, to the complainant as moral damages. The cases stemmed from multiple articles he wrote and published in the tabloid ''Remate'' which accused a Bureau of Customs official of being "an extortionist, a corrupt public official, smuggler and having illegally acquired wealth".
During the aftermath of the 2010 Manila hostage crisis, Tulfo was severely criticized for his on-air phone interview with hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza which was said to have escalated the incident leading to the deaths of eight hostages.
In 2018, it was revealed by the Commission on Audit that the Department of Tourism (DOT), then headed by Tulfo's sister Wanda, paid around ₱60 million to Bitag Media Unlimited Inc., a media outfit headed by their brother Ben, to place tourism ads on '' Kilos Pronto,'' a blocktimer show on PTV hosted by Tulfo. The transactions were not supported with proper documents such as a memorandum of agreement or contract. On May 8, Wanda Tulfo Teo resigned from her post. She stressed that she did not know that her brothers were running the television show and that it was a government-to-government contract between the tourism department and People's Television Network. The Tulfo brothers afterwards promised that they will return the . However, on June 17, 2018, it was revealed that they have not yet returned the money they received from the DOT. In August 2018, then-Senator Antonio Trillanes IV declared that he will press plunder charges against the Tulfo siblings.

On May 31, 2019, Tulfo made an on-air tirade against Social Welfare Secretary and retired Army Commanding General Rolando Bautista for refusing to interview with him. A few days later, thousands signed a petition demanding Tulfo to apologize. The Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association condemned Tulfo's remarks against the former Philippine Army chief. Tulfo has apologized to Bautista for his remarks.

In 2022, Tulfo's citizenship was disputed when he was appointed Secretary of Social Welfare and Development by then-President-elect Bongbong Marcos in May 2022. In December, the Commission on Appointments bypassed his appointment for the second time due to his American citizenship, which he had admitted to have from 1986 to renouncing it in early 2022, and his conviction on four counts of libel.

In 2024, the Court of Appeals dismissed GMA Network's petition for review on the alleged 'stolen video' libel case against Tulfo involving the 2004 kidnapping of Angelo dela Cruz.

Other ventures

Tulfo is also a franchisee and endorser of Siomai King, a food cart business selling Philippine siomai.

Personal life

Tulfo met newscaster Karen Padilla at ABS-CBN in the 1990s, whom he later married. They have two daughters: Erika (born January 2004) and Erin.

In 2022, Tulfo admitted to having a total of ten children with four women. In October 2024, Tulfo listed Rizalina Aquino as his wife in his certificate of candidacy for senator in the 2025 elections.

Filmography

Television

Radio

Awards

;PMPC Star Awards for Television
*Best Male Newscaster (2014, 2015 and 2016)

;Inding-Indie Short Film Festival
*Asian Best Broadcasters Award (2015)
*Most Trusted Media Personalities for Radio and Television Award (2016)

External links

Official website
*

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tulfo, Erwin
1963 births
Living people
ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs people
ABS-CBN people
Bongbong Marcos administration cabinet members
Filipino people of Japanese descent
Filipino politicians of Japanese descent
Filipino radio journalists
Filipino television news anchors
Former United States citizens
RPN News and Public Affairs people
IBC News and Public Affairs people
Lakas–CMD politicians
News5 people
People from Metro Manila
People from Tacloban
Radio Philippines Network personalities
People's Television Network people
Secretaries of social welfare and development of the Philippines
Erwin
Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation personalities
TV5 Network people
United States Army soldiers
University of the East alumni