Now that there are a dime a dozen survey firms all fighting to win clients, it is fairly easy for them to design polls to bolster the popularity of would-be candidates, which explains why TV show hosts would rate high despite their bloody record, with one guy presiding over a deadly stampede. Since he is noted for doling out cash, people naturally queue up wherever he materializes.
The Tulfo brothers and sister are a different case since they figured in a scandalous scheme in which the sister, as tourism secretary under Rodrigo Duterte, awarded an advertising contract to a company that her brothers operated in Quezon City. Ogf course, it smacked of nepotism but the lame excuse was that she didn’t know her brothers owned the company. Well, tell that to the Marines. Eldest brother Ramon also entered the picture and said he advised the sister to quit her Cabinet position. Erwin and Ben Tulfo also promised to return the P60-million payment as ordered but until now, there is no record that the money was returned to the Department of Tourism.
Erwin and Ben Tulfo are deemed to be shoo-ins in the senatorial race, all because of popularity, as reinforced by survey companies salivating for sustained business. Erwin was the same Tulfo who was mauled by the Aviation Security Command (Avsecom) during martial law for purportedly trying to smuggle dollars to Bangkok. Due to this incident, Erwin lost his reportorial job at Malaya. Later on, he clashed with a former secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), a former general, who also saved him harm in the waters of the Sulu Sea.
Being close to Bongbong Marcos Jr., Erwin also ended up being named DSWD secretary, only to lose his position as the Commission on Appointments (CA) did not confirm him. Why? You might ask. Was it because of a bid to purchase a fleet of vehicles for the department? Or questions about his citizenship, like one Metro Manila who stole the thunder from his critics by destroying his US passport before reporters.
The Tulfos have profited from their “public service” shows that concern common grievances against cops, local politicians and uniformed personnel except those with several stars. Many journalists and commentators did likewise, earning plaudits from listeners and readers, their complaints heard and resolved, but not to the extent of causing earth-shaking revamps at the Philippine National Police (PNP) or the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the House of Representatives or the Senate. Neither did their frequent diatribes against corrupt elements in government lead to a change in the civic culture within the bureaucracy, or to improved efficiency in the state apparatus.
Another brother, Raffy, is a sitting senator who was supposed to go hammer-and-tongs against the corrupt elements at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) over suspicious e-lotto deals as well as the immensely wealthy architects of e-sabong. Raffy even showcased his expensive shirts stashed in three rooms, giving Imelda’s 3,000 pairs of shoes stiff competition. Of course, lawmakers are measured by the laws they have crafted, not by the prices of shirts and underwear.
Voters should beware. They should look at the record of candidates, not their popularity or false greatness. They should not look far. Take the cases of Bato de la Rosa and Bong Go, whom Rodrigo Duterte backed to the hilt and won Senate seats, or the twerking damsels brought by Francis Tolentino to a party in Laguna, or Bong Revilla, who also did not return the tainted money that authorities demanded that he return, which was also the demand to his Camp Crame “kakosa” Jinggoy Estrada. These are all facts, not the massaged results of surveys, not the false image drawn to delude voters.
The midterm elections are just five months away and the highways are being polluted with tarpaulins that boost the worst bets of political dynasties, from the worthless members of the Committee of Silence at the Lower House to the killers of the ABS-CBN franchise who gifted frequencies to the likes of Manny Villar and Apollo Quiboloy. These are the creatures that no one should elect. That would be elevating the incompetent to the pantheon of overpaid sloths.
