Filipino voters should stop answering surveys since they influence the election by claiming that one slate has the majority of senatorial posts in the bag, even if the filing of certificates has not started. Favorability surveys are rackets meant to make their sponsors feel good and provide the “scientific basis” for the moneybags to bet on “sure winners.”
For such polls to be truly scientific, they must educate the voters, reveal the records of the prospective candidates and state explicitly where they stand on the structural issues choking the Filipino people and throw away the garbage about senators using their offices for gluta drips, or storage space for automatic rifles. No more chit-shat about bleeding hearts like Bong Go, who equates a Senate post as an extension of the DSWD. This reminds us of politicians who share their blessings in this wise: “One for you, one for me; one for you, two for me, and so on…”
Surveys are practically useless if they are multiple-choice types. You are compelled to select candidates by firms like SWS, Pulse Asia, Oculus, OCTA, Publicis or Saecula Saeculorum Corp. without informing the respondents why they should choose Judas Priest rather than Bishop Vice. They could not explain why they opted for stratified random sampling or weighted representative samples based on historical voting patterns or control by political dynasties. In the end, these companies force you to choose two sides of the same coin. Heads you win, tails they lose.
By bombarding voters with survey results, these firms lull the electorate that the battle is really between the Marcos Jr. and Duterte slates, and both of these factions are backed by plutocrats, Chinese money or influenced to the utmost by Uncle Sam. Voters must not only look at the glowing “curricula vitae” of Senate bets but must also assess what they did in the past, how they scaled the political ladder and what they did to raise the minimum wage, boost improved agricultural production and emancipate peasants from their landlords. Using the media as a stepping-stone to political power is probably one way to win. Tulfos are now bombarding voters with the incredulous argument that they have served the public with their commentaries. It is one thing to cut down the small fry and another to take down the big fish. They prefer the former rather than the latter.
Just days ago, a flood of surveys said the supposed runaway winner in the 2025 senatorial race is ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo, with 54% voting preference. Does anybody care why Tulfo lost the secretaryship of the Department of Social Work and Development (DSWD)? He flamed out at the Commission on Appointments (CA), didn’t he? Lawmakers might have found it strange why the DSWD planned to acquire a fleet of vehicles for disaster relief and rehabilitation and questioned what happened to the various cash assistance programs of the department. He also clashed with a former DSWD secretary who happened to command the saved him in the Sulu archipelago.
Take a walk down memory lane. Look at Erwin Tulfo’s record as a journalist. He worked as reporter for Malaya during the Marcos dictatorship but it was not a pass for members of the defunct Aviation Security Command (Avsecom) who busted him at the Manila International Airport (MIA) and manhandled as he allegedly tried to smuggle foreign exchange as he tried to fly to Bangkok. Surely, the dictator Marcos was a cheapskate who maintained only a P100 bill in his wallet during the years when the economy was floundering after the assassination of Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Was Erwin Tulfo able to explain this matter? He was released at the intercession of you- know-who, bounced from job-to-job and ended up singing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” by Julia Ward Howe in the US Army. As to why he left ABS-CBN, voters may interview the many girls at the network.
Of course, the Tulfos have gone beyond mere reporting as they organized themselves to be the battering ram against government abuse. They are now openly representing Chinese corporations and suggesting to act as negotiators to resolve outstanding issues on infrastructure projects like dams, bridges, and problems regarding the dredging of rivers and flattening of mountains to sustain China’s reclamation projects here and in the West Philippine Sea (WPS.) By doing so, they should register as foreign agents. But not every day is a fiesta for the Tulfos. One of them cursed a top banana at the Department of Agriculture (DA) for going hammer and tongs against suspected meat smugglers. The furious official cursed that Tulfo guy back. Forthwith, the DA launched an operation against the cold storage facilities of some importers, thousands of kilos of hot meat were seized and the cursing Tulfos stopped. Blasting DA officials on radio was a bad tactic for protecting clients.
Then, there was this P60-million scandal at the Department of Tourism (DoT) anomaly, when a sister of the Tulfos, Wanda Tulfo-Teo, happened to be the Tourism secretary and directed the placement of the P60-million ads to Kilos Pronto, a blocktimer on PTV-4 without any memorandum of agreement or a valid contract. Kilos Pronto was produced and hosted by Teo’s brothers Ben Tulfo and Erwin Tulfo, both of whom were allied with Rodrigo Duterte. Teo’s fantastic claim was that she “did not know” that her own brothers were running the very specific television show she sent P60 million to. Teo quit on May 8, 2018. The Tulfo brothers afterward promised that they would return the P60 million of the funds received from their sister. Ben and Erwin then took a 180-degree turn, invoking their innocence and refusing to return a single red centavo. Both are running for the Senate. If they could cadge P60 million in TV ads without the benefit of a government post, how much more would they earn when they wield legislative power?
