Erwin Tulfo | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senator of the Philippines | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of theHouse of Representatives forACT-CIS | |||||||||||||||||||||
| In office May 30, 2023 – June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Chair of theHouse Committee on Games and Amusements | |||||||||||||||||||||
| In office August 9, 2023 – June 30, 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Joseph Bernos | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Antonio Ferrer | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of Social Welfare and Development | |||||||||||||||||||||
| In office June 30, 2022 – December 27, 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Bongbong Marcos | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Rolando Joselito Bautista | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Edu Punay (OIC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Acting Chairperson ofSenate Blue Ribbon Committee | |||||||||||||||||||||
| In office October 8, 2025 – November 11, 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Panfilo Lacson | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Panfilo Lacson | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Erwin Teshiba Tulfo (1964-08-10)August 10, 1964 (age 61)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Citizenship |
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| Party | Lakas (2024–present) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Other political affiliations | ACT-CIS (party-list; 2023–2025) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouses |
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| Relations |
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| Children | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent(s) | Ramon S. Tulfo Sr. Caridad Teshiba | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Quezon City | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of the East (BSBA) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation |
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Erwin Teshiba Tulfo (Tagalog:[ˈʔɛɾwinˈtulfo]; born August 10, 1964) is a Filipino politician, news anchor, and columnist who has served as asenator of the Philippines since 2025. He previously served as the representative forACT-CIS Partylist and as a deputy majority leader of thePhilippine House of Representatives from 2023 to 2025.[3][4] He previously served as thesecretary of social welfare and development from June 30 to December 27, 2022, when his appointment was blocked and bypassed by theCommission on Appointments, during thepresidency ofBongbong 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.[5] A member of the Tulfo family of broadcasters, he was first hired as a news reporter atABS-CBN upon returning to the Philippines in the 1990s, anchoring various news programs at the network such asTV Patrol andPulso and hosting the showsMagandang Gabi... Bayan,Magandang Umaga, Bayan andPrivate I.[6]
He co-hostedPRTV Prime Media's primetime newscastArangkada Balita in 2025, alongsideNiña Corpuz. He also hostedPTV's primetime news programUlat Bayan from 2020 to 2022,[7] as well as one of its AM radio counterparts:Radyo Pilipinas Uno'sErwin Tulfo: Live! orTutok: Erwin Tulfo (2017–2022).[8] OnTV5, Tulfo hosted the programsTutok Tulfo (2010–2012) andT3: Alliance (2011–2016), and anchored the news programAksyon from 2010 to 2017. He has also previously worked forRadio Philippines Network (RPN) andIntercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC).
In 2000, Tulfo was convicted of four counts of libel inPasay for a series of articles he wrote for the tabloidRemate in 1999 that accused aBureau of Customs lawyer as an "extortionist... and a smuggler".[9][10] In 2011, Tulfo was fined₱10,000 (equivalent to ₱13,912 in 2021) by theKapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) for irresponsible coverage of the August 2010Manila hostage crisis as host ofRMN'sRadyo Mo Nationwide, with him admitting to violating police instructions by interviewing the hostage taker while negotiations were ongoing.[11]
Erwin Teshiba Tulfo was born inTacloban on August 10, 1964,[12] He has eight siblings, among whom include Tuchi, Bong, Joseph, Edelle,Ramon,Ben, andRaffy Tulfo, who are all his fellow journalists.[13] His brother,Raffy, is an incumbent senator, while his sister,Wanda Corazon Teo, was atourism secretary during theDuterte administration.[14]
During his unsuccessful 2022 congressional confirmation hearings forsecretary of social welfare and development, Tulfo was alleged by representativesOscar Malapitan (Caloocan–1st) andRodante Marcoleta (SAGIP) to have served in theUnited States Army from 1988 to 1992 and assigned on a tour in Europe from 1992 to 1996.[15] He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from theUniversity 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.[16]
In 2022, Tulfo was appointedsecretary of social welfare and development by then-President-electBongbong Marcos in May 2022.[17] However, on December 27, 2022, his appointment was blocked and bypassed by theCommission on Appointments due to citizenship issues.
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On May 30, 2023, Tulfo took oath as a representative ofACT-CIS Partylist, a week after a disqualification case against him was junked by theCommission on Elections.[18] 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.[19] 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.[20][21]
On September 26, 2024, Tulfo was officially introduced as part ofAlyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial slate for the2025 Senate election.[22] Tulfo later filed his candidacy to run for senator on October 6, 2024.[12] He was elected and placed fourth.[23]
During the20th Congress of the Philippines, Tulfo was named chairperson of the Senate committees onGames and Amusement andSocial Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, as well as the vice chairperson of theSenate Committee on Foreign Relations and theSenate Blue Ribbon Committee.[24] He later became the acting chairperson of the Blue Ribbon Committee between the resignation ofPanfilo Lacson as its chairperson on October 5, 2025, and Lacson's reinstatement on November 11, 2025.[25]
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In 2008, Tulfo was found guilty by theSupreme Court of the Philippines of four counts oflibel 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 tabloidRemate which accused aBureau of Customs official of being "an extortionist, a corrupt public official, smuggler and having illegally acquired wealth".[26][27]
During the aftermath of the2010 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.[28][29][30]
In 2018, it was revealed by theCommission on Audit that theDepartment of Tourism (DOT), then headed by Tulfo's sisterWanda, paid around ₱60 million to Bitag Media Unlimited Inc., a media outfit headed by their brotherBen, to place tourism ads onKilos Pronto, a blocktimer show on PTV hosted by Tulfo.[31] 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.[31][32][33] She stressed that she did not know that her brothers were running the television show[34] and that it was a government-to-government contract between the tourism department andPeople's Television Network.[31] The Tulfo brothers afterwards promised that they will return the₱60 million.[35][36] However, on June 17, 2018, it was revealed that they have not yet returned the money they received from the DOT.[37] In August 2018, then-SenatorAntonio Trillanes IV declared that he will pressplunder charges against the Tulfo siblings.[38]
On May 31, 2019, Tulfo made an on-air tirade against Social Welfare Secretary and retiredArmy Commanding GeneralRolando Bautista for refusing to interview with him.[39] A few days later, thousands signed a petition demanding Tulfo to apologize.[40] ThePhilippine Military Academy Alumni Association condemned Tulfo's remarks against the formerPhilippine Army chief.[41] Tulfo has apologized to Bautista for his remarks.[42]
In 2022, Tulfo's citizenship was disputed when he was appointedSecretary of Social Welfare and Development by then-President-electBongbong Marcos in May 2022.[17][43] In December, theCommission 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,[43] and his conviction on four counts oflibel.[44]
In 2024, theCourt of Appeals dismissedGMA Network'spetition for review on the alleged 'stolen video'libel case against Tulfo involving the 2004kidnapping of Angelo dela Cruz.[45]
Tulfo is also a franchisee and endorser of Siomai King, a food cart business sellingPhilippine siomai.[46]
Tulfo met newscaster Karen Padilla atABS-CBN in the 1990s, whom he later married.[47] They have two daughters: Erika (born January 2004) and Erin.[48]
In 2022, Tulfo admitted to having a total of ten children with four women.[49] In October 2024, Tulfo listed Rizalina Aquino as his wife in his certificate of candidacy for senator in the2025 elections.[2]
| Year | Office | Party | Votes received | Result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | % | P. | Swing | |||||
| 2022 | Representative (Party-list) | ACT-CIS | 2,111,091 | 5.80% | 1st | N/a | Won | |
| 2025 | Senator of the Philippines | Lakas | 17,118,881 | 29.85% | 4th | N/a | Won | |
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| Year | Title | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1987–1992 | PTV Weekend Report | News anchor |
| 1987–1995 | Pangunahing Balita | |
| 1995–1996 | Magandang Umaga Po | Host |
| 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.[50] | Host |
| 2004–2005 | TV Patrol Sabado/Linggo (nowTV Patrol Weekend) | News anchor |
| 2004–2005 | ABS-CBN Insider | News anchor |
| 2005–2006 | Isumbong Mo: Tulfo Brothers | Himself |
| 2006–2007 | RPN NewsWatch Aksyon Balita | News anchor |
| 2007–2009 | Bitag | Co-host |
| 2010–2017 | Aksyon | News anchor |
| 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 News | News anchor | |
| 2020–2022 | Ulat Bayan | News anchor |
| 2025 | Arangkada Balita | News anchor |
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2010–2018; 2023–2025 | Punto Asintado withAljo Bendijo |
| 2018–2022 | Tutok Erwin Tulfo |
| 2006–2010 | RMN News Nationwide |
| 2023 | Erwin Tulfo On-Air with Niña Corpuz |
Media related toErwin Tulfo at Wikimedia CommonsNag-umpisa ang Ulat Bayan noong September 7. Ito ang hudyat ng pagbabalik sa primetime newscast ni Erwin Tulfo, ang nakababatang kapatid niRaffy[...]
Location[:] PTV 4
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: location (link)[Michael] Rogas interfered in the negotiations and effectively aided and supported the hostage taker by giving him a platform to air his demands. Tulfo, by his own admission, violated police instructions.
Erwin used to work with ABS-CBN, where he met his wife, the former Karen Padilla.
Masigasig na pag-iimbestiga sa tunay na pangyayari sa likod ng mga istorya kasama si ERWIN TULFO sa pag-arangkada ng...
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Secretary of Social Welfare and Development 2022 | Succeeded by Edu Punay asOIC |
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