Rafael Teshiba Tulfo (born March 12, 1960), popularly known as Raffy Tulfo or Idol Raffy (), is a Filipino politician, broadcast journalist, and media personality currently serving as a Senator of the Philippines since 2022.
His works are focused on government and private sector issues, and he is best known as the host of the long-running public affairs radio program Wanted sa Radyo, and the former anchor of Aksyon sa Tanghali from 2014 to 2020 that featured the segment Ipa-Raffy Tulfo Mo. His YouTube channel Raffy Tulfo in Action, which features videos from both shows, is the third-most subscribed Filipino YouTube channel as of 2021. Tulfo sought a seat in the Philippine senate in the 2022 election and won placing third overall with 23 million votes. Tulfo serves as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Senate Committee on Migrant Workers.
Early life
Raffy Tulfo was born as Rafael Teshiba Tulfo in Quezon City on March 12, 1960. He is the son of Ramon Tulfo Sr., a colonel in the Philippine Constabulary, and Caridad Teshiba-Tulfo, a housewife. He is the eighth out of ten siblings which includes broadcasters Ramon, Ben, and Erwin as well as former tourism secretary Wanda Corazon Teo.
A college dropout, Tulfo spent four years in different universities and studied several majors including economics, political science, agribusiness and commerce but did not finish a degree before becoming a journalist.
Political career
On October 2, 2021, Tulfo filed his certificate of candidacy for senator as an independent candidate for the 2022 senatorial election. On February 8, 2022, he joined the senatorial slate of presidential candidate Manny Pacquiao. Tulfo finished in third place, receiving 23,396,954 votes, and was proclaimed as Senator on May 18, 2022. Tulfo was later elected as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy.
Senate
At the start of the 19th Congress in July 2022, Tulfo filed his priority bills which include protecting Filipino workers from abusive employers and providing discounts for poor job applicants. He also filed a bill amending the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act to protect all family members from violence. Amid rising electricity rates in Mindanao and other parts of the Philippines in August 2022, Tulfo called for a Senate investigation into the rotational blackouts in the country and filed a Senate resolution seeking to avert the imminent energy crisis.
In 2023, Tulfo filed a bill legalizing and regulating the underground importation of ukay-ukay second-hand products which already evolved as part of Filipino culture. He later filed a bill mandating all providers of critical infrastructure services such as power generation and distribution, water supply, healthcare, transportation, communications, and financial services to respond within two hours from the time of emergency service requests. He also filed a bill establishing security monitoring systems such as CCTV cameras in all prison cells to ensure the safety of inmates and prison personnel. Between February and April, Tulfo filed Senate resolutions seeking to probe reports of bullying within the hospital hierarchy, investigate reported delays of the Social Security System in processing retirement and death claims of its members, conduct an inquiry into reported inhumane treatment of patients and possible corruption at the National Center for Mental Health, and investigate "arrogant and condescending" government employees which he says are creating "an atmosphere of fear and mistrust" in government institutions. Amid several power outages in Luzon and growing tension between the Philippines and China in May 2023, Tulfo filed a senate resolution investigating the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to verify if it poses a threat to national security for being 40 percent owned by the State Grid Corporation of China.
Controversies
In 1999, Tulfo wrote a series of articles in his Abante-Tonite column alleging anomalous and illegal activities by officials of the Bureau of Customs. Tulfo, together with publisher Allen Macasaet and managing editor Nicolas Quijano Jr., were charged with libel by customs lawyer Carlos So on April 12, 1999. On February 28, 2005, the Pasay City Regional Trial Court found Tulfo, Macasaet and Quiano guilty of 14 counts of libel and were sentenced to up to 32 years of imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of total. On June 29, 2021, the Supreme Court acquitted Tulfo of the libel charges.
