Erwin Tulfo
Filipino broadcaster and politician (born 1963) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Erwin Teshiba Tulfo (Tagalog: [ˈʔɛɾwin ˈtulfo]; born October 6, 1963) is a Filipino politician, news anchor and columnist. He currently serves as a representative for ACT-CIS Partylist and a Deputy Majority Leader of the Philippine House of Representatives since 2023.[3][4] 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.
Erwin Tulfo | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2023 | |
| Deputy House Majority Leader | |
| Assumed office August 9, 2023 | |
| Leader | Manuel Jose Dalipe |
| Member of the House of Representatives for ACT-CIS | |
| Assumed office May 30, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Jeffrey Soriano |
| 27th Secretary of Social Welfare and Development | |
Ad interim | |
| In office June 30, 2022 – December 27, 2022 | |
| President | Bongbong Marcos |
| Preceded by | Rolando Joselito Bautista |
| Succeeded by | Edu Punay (OIC) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Erwin Teshiba Tulfo October 6, 1963[1] Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines |
| Citizenship |
|
| Political party | Lakas–CMD (2024–present) ACT-CIS (2023–present) (party-list) |
| Spouse | Rizalina Aquino[2]/Karen Padilla-Tulfo |
| Relations | |
| Parent(s) | Ramon S. Tulfo Sr. Caridad Teshiba |
| Residence | Quezon City |
| Alma mater | University of the East (BS) |
| Occupation |
|
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.[5] A member of the Tulfo family of broadcasters, he was first hired as a news reporter at ABS-CBN upon returning to the Philippines, anchoring various news programs at the network such as TV Patrol and Pulso and hosting the shows Magandang Gabi... Bayan and Magandang Umaga, Bayan.[6]
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,[7] as well as one of its AM radio counterparts: Radyo Pilipinas Uno's Erwin Tulfo: Live! or Tutok: Erwin Tulfo (2017–2022).[8] 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 lawyer at the Bureau of Customs as an "extortionist... and a smuggler".[9][10] 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, where he admitted to violating police instructions by interviewing the hostage taker Rolando Mendoza while negotiations are ongoing.[11]
Early life
Born in Tacloban on October 6, 1963,[12] Tulfo is the son of Colonel Ramon Silvestre Tulfo Sr. (1915–1985),[13] who was a member of Philippine Constabulary, and Caridad Teshiba-Tulfo (c. 1927–2024), a housewife. He has eight siblings, among whom include Tuchi, Bong, Joseph, Edelle, Ramon, Ben, and Raffy Tulfo, who are all his fellow journalists.[14] His brother, Raffy, is an incumbent senator, while his sister, Wanda Corazon Teo, was a tourism secretary during the Duterte administration.[15]
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 during his unsuccessful 2022 congressional confirmation hearings for secretary of social welfare and development.[16] 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.[17]
Political career
In 2022, Tulfo was appointed Secretary of Social Welfare and Development by then-President-elect Bongbong Marcos in May 2022.[18] 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.[19] 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.[20] 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.[21][22]
On September 26, 2024, Tulfo was officially named to the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial slate for the 2025 Senate election.[23] Tulfo later filed his candidacy to run for senator on October 6, 2024.[12]
Controversies
Summarize
Perspective
 | This section may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints. (February 2023) |
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 ₱6,000 for each count and, along with his co-accused, ₱1,000,000 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".[24][25]
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.[26][27][28]
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.[29] 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.[29][30][31] She stressed that she did not know that her brothers were running the television show[32] and that it was a government-to-government contract between the tourism department and People's Television Network.[29] The Tulfo brothers afterwards promised that they will return the ₱60 million.[33][34] However, on June 17, 2018, it was revealed that they have not yet returned the money they received from the DOT.[35] In August 2018, then-Senator Antonio Trillanes IV declared that he will press plunder charges against the Tulfo siblings.[36]
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.[37] A few days later, thousands signed a petition demanding Tulfo to apologize.[38] The Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association condemned Tulfo's remarks against the former Philippine Army chief.[39] Tulfo has apologized to Bautista for his remarks.[40]
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.[18][41] 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,[41] and his conviction on four counts of libel.[42]
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 case.[43]
Other ventures
Tulfo is also a franchisee and endorser of Siomai King, a food cart business selling Philippine siomai.[44]
Personal life
Tulfo met newscaster Karen Padilla at ABS-CBN in the 1990s, whom he later married.[45] They have two daughters: Erika (born January 2004) and Erin.[46]
In October 2024, Tulfo listed Rizalina Aquino as his wife in his certificate of candidacy for senator in the 2025 elections.[2]
Filmography
 | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (February 2023) |
Television
| Television | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Character | Network | ||
| 1987–1992 | PTV Weekend Report | News anchor | PTV | ||
| 1987–1995 | Pangunahing Balita | ||||
| 1995–1996 | Magandang Umaga Po | Host | ABS-CBN | ||
| 1996–2006 | Alas Singko y Medya/Magandang Umaga Bayan/Magandang Umaga, Pilipinas | ||||
| 1996–2004 | ABS-CBN Weekend News | News anchor | |||
| 1995–1999 | Hoy Gising! | Himself | |||
| 1999–2000 | Mission–X | Host | |||
| 2000–2002 | Pangako Sa 'Yo | Himself (Cameo) | |||
| 2001–2005 | Magandang Gabi, Bayan | Host | |||
| 2003–2005 | Private I.[47] | Host | |||
| 2004–2005 | TV Patrol Sabado/Linggo (now TV Patrol Weekend) | News anchor | |||
| 2004–2005 | ABS-CBN Insider | News anchor | |||
| 2005–2006 | Isumbong Mo: Tulfo Brothers | Himself | RPN | ||
| 2006–2007 | RPN NewsWatch Aksyon Balita | News anchor | |||
| 2007–2009 | Bitag | Co-host | IBC | ||
| 2010–2017 | Aksyon | News anchor | TV5 | ||
| 2010–2012 | Tutok Tulfo | Host | |||
| 2010–2011 | Sapul sa Singko | Host/Anchor | |||
| 2011–2016 | T3: Alliance | Host | |||
| 2013–2014 | Good Morning Club | Host/Anchor | |||
| 2014–2016 | Yaman ng Bayan | Host | |||
| 2017–2018 | Kilos Pronto | Co-host | PTV | ||
| PTV News | News anchor | ||||
| 2020–2022 | Ulat Bayan | News anchor | |||
| 2025 | Arangkada Balita | News anchor | PRTV Prime Media | ||
Radio
| Year | Title | Station |
|---|---|---|
| 2010–2018; 2023–2025 | Punto Asintado with Aljo Bendijo | Radyo Pilipinas (RP1) (formerly Radyo5 92.3 News FM) |
| 2018–2022 | Tutok Erwin Tulfo | Radyo Pilipinas (RP1) |
| 2006–2010 | RMN News Nationwide | DZXL 558 |
| 2023 | Erwin Tulfo On-Air with Niña Corpuz | Radyo Pilipinas (RP1) |
Awards
- PMPC Star Awards for Television
- Inding-Indie Short Film Festival
- Asian Best Broadcasters Award (2015)[50]
- Most Trusted Media Personalities for Radio and Television Award (2016)
External links
Media related to Erwin Tulfo at Wikimedia Commons
References
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