Erwin Tulfo admits being undocumented worker in US

MANILA, Philippines — Rep. Erwin Tulfo (ACT-CIS Partylist) said on Monday, January 6, that he had once been an undocumented Filipino in the United States, addressing allegations surrounding his US passport, which reportedly bore the name “Erich Sylvester Tulfo”  and a different birthday.   

Speaking on his radio show "Punto Asintado Reload", Tulfo spent nearly 40 minutes recounting his family's financial struggles and his decade-long stint working various blue-collar jobs in the US. At the same time, he blasted at the "vloggers" who accused him of falsifying his identity. 

While he openly admitted to being a TNT — short for “tago nang tago” (always hiding), a term for undocumented migrants evading immigration authorities — he refrained from directly addressing allegations that he falsified documents.

"That’s the only mistake that I did. I became a TNT. That’s true. I’m not ashamed that I was once an undocumented alien … because I had no papers,” Tulfo said in a mix of English and Filipino.  

Tulfo, who is running for senator in the 2025 midterm elections, said that he only became a TNT because he wanted to earn and support his family.  

“I am not ashamed of it, but I won’t brag about it either. Why? Because what I used to feed my children wasn’t stolen, nor did I scam anyone,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.  

Forged documents?   

Tulfo admitted that during his time in the US, undocumented workers like him often resorted to purchasing forged documents — including driver’s licenses and birth certificates — to secure jobs.  

“There were places where you could buy a driver’s license, social security, birth certificate… and you’d do everything you could to find work,” he said. 

However, Tulfo did not explicitly confirm whether he used fraudulent documents.  

Tulfo then narrated how he left the Philippines in 1986 on a tourist visa, eventually overstaying to work in the US. He recalled juggling multiple jobs, starting as a supermarket cart pusher during the day and a dishwasher at night at a Filipino restaurant. 

Over the next decade, he said he took on roles as a bagger, stockroom clerk, caregiver, warehouseman, janitor, security guard, mechanic’s assistant and a driver for the US Army.  

Out of fear of deportation, Tulfo said he frequently switched jobs to evade inspections by US Immigration authorities.  

Once he managed to bring his children to the US for their education, Tulfo returned to the Philippines, returning to his career in media before entering politics.  

Controversies over his citizenship, US passport

Questions about Tulfo’s citizenship resurfaced during his brief stint as secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in 2022, when the Commission on Appointments (CA) declined to confirm him, citing his unresolved citizenship issues and a 2008 libel conviction.  

He admitted in an ambush interview after the CA hearing on the issue that he was once an American citizen in the late 1908s. 

A disqualification petition filed in March 2023 also sought to prevent Tulfo from being proclaimed as a nominee for ACT-CIS Partylist, alleging irregularities with his US passport and citizenship. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) dismissed the petition for being filed after the deadline.  

According to a 2023 GMA News report, Tulfo previously clarified to Comelec’s Second Division that his US passport bore the name “Erich Sylvester Tulfo” and a different birthday because of documents processed for his enlistment in the US military, when he was “recruited” by an American citizen. 

He said he had no idea how the requirements had to be processed and who were the people who processed it for him. 

Despite the controversies, Tulfo said he was innocent, insisting that he had not violated any laws.  

The allegations circulating online included photos of a letter from the US Embassy addressed to Tulfo, notifying him in October 2022 that his US passport had been revoked for allegedly obtaining a birth certificate through fraudulent means. Another photo showed the lawmaker acknowledging receipt of the letter.

Tulfo is currently leading in senatorial preference surveys.