In the Alyansa sa Bagong Pilipinas’ press conference held on April 4, Friday, Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Representative Erwin Tulfo stated that he and fellow senatorial bet Ben Tulfo “will sacrifice” and back out of politics should an anti-political dynasty bill be officially promulgated.
“Kung meron sa Congress na gano’n, I will agree, kung tatanungin niyo ako. I mean, may mga kapatid ako, many of us are in politics right now. I will agree kung ikagaganda ba naman ng ating bayan ‘yon. Why not, ‘di ba?” Tulfo said during the event held in Antipolo City, Rizal.
Tulfo added that incumbent Senator Raffy Tulfo was also in support of the anti-political dynasty measures, stating further that they are “new to politics” and “not the best.”
“Kung mas ikagaganda ng bayan, we will sacrifice, siguro aatras ako, aatras si Ben dahil nauna si Raffy, aatras kami. I will even talk to my nephew, ‘Atras ka na d’yan, Ralph.’ I will even talk to my sister too, ‘Atras na tayo d’yan. Isa na lang muna,’” Tulfo continued.
On February 14, the Tulfo clan faced a petition with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to disqualify five of its members from running in the 2025 midterm elections, alleging them to be part of a political dynasty: Erwin and Ben; their sister-in-law Rep. Jocelyn Pua-Tulfo and nephew Rep. Ralph Wendel Tulfo, who are vying for a position at the House of Representatives; and their sister Wanda Teo-Tulfo, the first nominee of Turismo Party-list.
However, COMELEC junked the petition on March 4 for being “insufficient in form” as it did not provide the copies of the respondents’ certificates of candidacy (COCs) needed to verify the claim made.
Alyansa senatorial bets Makati City Mayor Abby Binay also expressed openness to consider the anti-political dynasty bill while former Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III voiced support for it so long as “intricacies” in defining dynasties are resolved, such as “illegitimate” or “illegal” families.
Binay and Sotto both have close relatives who are either incumbents, former officials, or candidates seeking elective positions.
