Responding to reports based on supposedly leaked documents that he had obtained American citizenship fraudulently, ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo claimed he “did not scam… did not deceive” anyone.
This is false. Tulfo admitted he was an undocumented alien who illegally worked in the United States for 10 years, having entered the country as a tourist.
STATEMENT
In the Jan. 6 episode of his radio show Punto Asintado Reload, Tulfo, talking to co-host Aljo Bendijo, said:
“Wala po akong nilabag na batas dito sa ating bayan, wala po akong nilokong tao, ni isang Filipino. Maging sa Amerika, noong nandoon po ako, wala po akong in-estafa, wala po akong ini-scam na mga Filipino, maging ang mga Amerikano. Wala po akong niloko. ‘Yung nire-remit ko ho na pera dito ay galing po sa pagod at pawis ko, Bai Aljo. Iyan ho ang totoo, kaya hindi po ako nahihiya.”
(I did not break any laws here in our country, I did not deceive anyone, not any Filipino. Even in America, when I was there, I did not swindle anyone, I did not scam any Filipino, or even any American. I did not deceive anyone. The money I remitted was from my own labor and sweat, friend Aljo. That is the truth, so I am not ashamed.)
Source: PUNTO ASINTADO RELOAD (PAR) | JANUARY 6, 2025, Jan. 6, 2025, watch from 49:32 to 49:59
FACT
A seven-page letter dated Oct. 11, 2022 supposedly coming from Michael W. Leach, deputy chief of American Citizen Services and Consul of the United States, and addressed to “Erick Sylvester Tulfo” has been circulating on social media. The letter carried a notification, “The Department of State has revoked U.S. Passport number 566701788 issued to [Tulfo] in the name of Erich Sylvester Tulfo, on August 6, 2021, along with any other valid U.S. Passports issued to you.”
The letter further said:
“An investigation revealed that Erich Sylvester Tulfo, born on December 30, 1965 in Hawaii is not your true identity. Evidence suggests that you are Erwin Teshiba Tulfo, born on August 10, 1963, in the Tacloban City, Leyte, Philippines. In fact, on June 27, 2022, you signed a voluntary statement that you were born in the Philippines, and you obtained your U.S. birth certificate by fraudulent means.”
When asked about the authenticity of the letter, the U.S. Embassy in Manila told VERA Files it could not comment on citizenship-related matters due to data privacy considerations. It did not confirm nor deny the letter.
Tulfo, who is running for the Senate under the administration’s Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas, faced disqualification as a House member in May 2023 over doubts about his citizenship. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) had dismissed the case, saying it was filed past Tulfo’s proclamation as ACT-CIS party-list representative on March 1, 2023.
Tulfo has provided conflicting accounts of his time in the U.S. In the Jan. 6 episode of his radio show, he claimed to have left the Philippines in 1986 for the U.S. where he overstayed as an undocumented immigrant. He said:
“So, pumunta ako sa U.S. Embassy, nag-apply ako as turista, tourist visa… Umalis po ako ng Pilipinas para mag-TNT po ako sa Amerika. Tago nang tago. Ibig sabihin, undocumented po ako. Undocumented alien, undocumented OCW [overseas contract worker]… Noong ako ho’y umalis noong 1986 dito sa Pilipinas, nag-TNT po ako roon.”
(So, I went to the U.S. Embassy, I applied as a tourist, for a tourist visa… I left the Philippines to become a TNT in America. Tago nang tago (always hiding). That means I was undocumented. Undocumented alien, undocumented OCW [overseas contract worker]…. When I left the Philippines in 1986, I was a TNT there [in America].)
Source: PUNTO ASINTADO RELOAD (PAR) | JANUARY 6, 2025, Jan. 6, 2025, watch from 35:49 to 37:05
During the unsuccessful confirmation hearing for his appointment as secretary of social welfare and development on Nov. 22, 2022, Tulfo told the bicameral Commission on Appointments that he worked in a grocery store and later with the U.S. Department of Defense.
CA member Caloocan City Rep. Oscar Malapitan asked Tulfo if he renounced his Filipino citizenship when he joined the U.S. military.
Reading from briefing papers provided by the CA, Malapitan said Tulfo served in the U.S. Army from 1988 to 1992.
Another CA member, SAGIP Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, added that Tulfo was purportedly stationed in Europe from 1992 to 1996.
Responding to both comments, Tulfo asked for an executive session to clarify the information.
On his Jan. 6 radio program, Tulfo said he worked in the U.S. for 10 years from his arrival in 1986, as an assistant mechanic and driver for a “U.S. military base.”
Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents, or green card holders, are eligible to be in the U.S. Army. The official U.S. government website says no one can enter the country to join the military or get a visa.
