Erwin Tulfo

His days of being a sharp-tongued broadcaster seemed to have come back to haunt Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo, once a high-profile ABS-CBN newscaster and show host who later became a staunch defender of then President Rodrigo Duterte, whose own tough-talking led to the network’s shutdown in December 2020. Facing the powerful Commission on Appointments on Nov. 22, Tulfo failed to convince the lawmakers to confirm his appointment. This was after his past conviction in a libel case cropped up. It also didn’t support his cause when he admitted having an American citizenship since 1988—a matter that came to light during the hearing after Caloocan City Rep. Oscar Malapitan revealed that the Marcos appointee had served as an enlisted personnel in the US Army. Speaking to reporters later, Tulfo maintained that he had already regained his Filipino citizenship and that this was before the President asked him to join the Cabinet. He refused, however, to provide further details about this issue.