ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo (File photo from INQUIRER FILES)
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� House Deputy Majority Leader and ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo has admitted that he was once an undocumented worker in the United States (US).
The confession comes as questions about his citizenship were brought out ahead of his senatorial bid.
During his radio program Punto Asintado on Monday, Tulfo tackled recent social media accusations that he supposedly tricked people into thinking he was a Filipino when he had a US passport.
According to Tulfo, he was a TNT or 鈥榯ago nang tago鈥� 鈥� a colloquial term for a Filipino undocumented worker in the US who hides from immigration officials to avoid deportation.
鈥淣gayon, kine-kwestyon ako ng ilang mga vlogger [鈥. Sabi, 鈥楳ay karapatan pa ba yan (na) tumakbo bilang senador, bilang mataas na opisyal ng bayan natin? Walang kredibilidad. Walang integridad,'鈥� Tulfo said.
(Now, I am being questioned by some vloggers, asking 鈥楧oes he still have the right to run for the Senate, as a high official of our country? No credibility. No integrity.鈥�)
鈥淜ung pagiging TNT ko ho, kung pagiging undocumented alien ko po eh bawal po ako magsilbi, bawal na po ako magtrabaho sa ating bayan, na ginawa ko lang naman 鈥榶on para mapakain 鈥榶ung mga anak ko [鈥 eh kung kasalanan ho 鈥榶on sa tingin ninyo, then guilty po ako,鈥� he declared.
(If my being an undocumented worker means I should not work for the country 鈥� which I just did to feed my children 鈥� if that is a crime for you, then I am guilty.)
鈥淧ero ito lang masasabi ko: Wala po akong nilabag na batas dito sa ating bayan. Wala po akong nilokong tao, ni isang Pilipino. Maging sa Amerika no鈥檔g nandoon po ako. Wala po akong ini-estafa. Wala po akong in-scam na mga Pilipino, maging na mga Amerikano. Wala po akong niloko,鈥� he added.
(But this is what I have to say: I did not violate any law in our country. I did not trick people, even a single Filipino. Even in America, when I was there, I did not scam or trick Filipinos or Americans. I did not fool anyone.)
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the only mistake that I did 鈥� nag-TNT po ako,鈥� he pointed out.
(That鈥檚 the only mistake that I did 鈥� I was an undocumented worker.)
According to Tulfo, who turned emotional during the program, he had to work as an undocumented alien so that he could help his family.
鈥淲hy is that na ngayon, 鈥榳alang kredibilidad, walang karapatang magsilbi [鈥.鈥� Kailangan po. Kapit sa patalim. I have to survive. I have to take care of my two kids and my girlfriend, my wife, before. That鈥檚 why pumunta ako (sa US),鈥� he said.
(Why is it that now鈥� 鈥榥o credibility, no right to serve [鈥.鈥� That was needed. I had to cling to a knife. I had to聽 survive. I had to take care of my two kids and my girlfriend, my wife, before. That鈥檚 why I went to the US.)
鈥淜ung may pera ako, I wouldn鈥檛 have gone. I wouldn鈥檛 have left. Kahit sino po yan, mga OFW (overseas Filipino worker) na yan, kung may pera ho yan, aalis ba yan? Hindi,鈥� the lawmaker explained.
(If I had the money, I wouldn鈥檛 have gone. I wouldn鈥檛 have left the country. Whoever that is, the OFWs, if they have the money, would they get out of the country? No.)
鈥淭he point is, may dahilan po kaya umaalis 鈥榶ung tao. Lahat ho, may dahilan. Kung mayaman ho 鈥榶ong mga yan, aalis ba yan?鈥� he asked.
(The point is that there is a reason why people get out of the country. Everyone has a reason. If they are rich, would they leave the country?)
Letters where the US Embassy in the Philippines supposedly informed Tulfo that his US passport was revoked have been circulating over social media during the holiday celebrations.
According to a letter dated October 11, 2022, the US government revoked the passport of a certain Erick Sylvester Tulfo as it believed this person was Rep. Tulfo.
In November 2022, discussions on Tulfo鈥檚 appointment as Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) secretary were deferred by the Commission on Appointments (CA) due to legal issues over his citizenship.
After the CA hearing, Tulfo admitted he became an American citizen in 1988, noting that he regained his Filipino citizenship in 2022 as part of the requirements for his appointment as a public official.
READ: CA defers Tulfo鈥檚 confirmation as secretary of DSWD聽
The issue was raised by Caloocan City 1st District Rep. Oscar Malapitan, who said that Tulfo was a member of the US military from 1988 to 1992.
Sagip Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, meanwhile, said Tulfo鈥檚 records showed he was in 鈥渁ctive military service stationed in Europe鈥� from 1992 to 1996.
As to why he kept this issue hidden, Tulfo stressed that illegal aliens usually do not show off or brag to people that they were undocumented workers in a foreign country.
鈥淓h bakit mo tinago for 20 years? Hindi po ipinangangalandakan ng mga 鈥榠ka nga undocumented alien, ng mga TNT, pero hindi ko rin ikinahihiya na once upon a time, nag-TNT ako, na once upon a time, illegal alien ako,鈥� he noted.
(Why did you hide it for 20 years? Undocumented aliens do not discuss their past as TNTs, but I am not shy to admit that once upon a time, I was an undocumented worker, that once upon a time, I was an illegal alien.)
Tulfo believes the rumors came out only because he was ranking high in the surveys for the 2025 senatorial race.
According to a Pulse Asia survey released last October 2024, Tulfo and nine other candidates in the administration ticket entered the Magic 12.
READ:
A survey from Social Weather Stations, meanwhile, showed the same results, with 10 out of the top 12 spots occupied by administration stalwarts like Tulfo.
READ: SWS: Erwin Tulfo, Revilla, Go, Cayetano lead senatorial preference poll聽
Tulfo was the top choice among respondents in both surveys.
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