Senator Erwin Tulfo on Headstart with Ms. Karen Davila

PHILIPPINES, July 31 - Press Release
July 31, 2025

SENATOR ERWIN TULFO ON HEADSTART WITH MS. KAREN DAVILA

MS. KAREN DAVILA: Alright, with us this morning is the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement, Senator Erwin Tulfo. Senator Tulfo, good morning to you.

SET: Good morning, Ms. Karen, and thank you for inviting me to your program.

Q: Okay, well first, I want to congratulate you. I mean, this is your first run for the Senate. You were number three. Just very briefly, what was it like during the first day when you held session? And you voted essentially for a new Senate President. What was that experience for you?

SET: Nervous. Siyempre, very first time to be in the Senate. Tapos alam naman namin, alam ko na all eyes on us at that very moment dahil di pa nagse-session ang Congress. So nakafocus lahat sa amin. So parang every move that I have to do, we have to do it, especially the new ones. We have to be careful.

Q: Okay. Now you were given the chairmanship of two actually very powerful committees, one would say. One is right now Games and Amusement and the other one I believe is social welfare. Tama ba ito, Senator?

SET: Yes, ma'am. Games and amusement and social justice and welfare and rural development.

Q: Okay. So pag-usapan muna natin itong online gambling. You did announce that you will spearhead a Senate investigation into the proliferation of online gambling. You want this banned. Give us an overview. PAGCOR says it has 200 billion pesos in revenues for the national government every year. Kaya mahirap daw itong tanggalin. But why do you believe a ban is timely? Bakit dapat i-ban?

SET: Kasi Ms. Karen, yung revenue na 200 plus billion, na-outweigh na siya. Mas mabigat na yung social problem, social ill. Like I have mentioned before, problema dyan. Okay lang. Ang problema kasi, ang sugal kasi is a vice, bisyo na pinakamasamang bisyo. Kasi drinking, paglalasing, sasaktan mo lang sarili mo, you get liver disease, heart problem, ganun din sa smoking, droga nga, masama din pero you're hurting yourself and of course your community. Pero sa sugal, Miss Karen, usually hindi mo na naiuwi yung pera mo para sa pamilya. Sino ang apektado? Anak mo. Pag-aaral, hindi na makapag-aaral, di makapagbay ng tuition. Wala na kayong makain sa lamesa dahil sinugal mo na. Diba? Apektado na rin pati trabaho mo, pati ika nga output mo sa trabaho. So kung apektado yung output mo, therefore, apektado din yung operations ng kumpanya mo. Paano kung mataas na official ka sa company na yun? Diba? Marami, maraming naapektuhan at saka nagkakabaon-baon sa utang, ikang sanla dito, sanla na doon. Worst, naghihiwalay ang pamilya. Yun ang pinakamasama dyan. Sa drinking, pwede pa minsan ni misis, matake pa ni misis pag pagsisigarilyo. Pero sugal talaga, maraming broken families because of gambling.

Q: Okay, now you do have some consultants, some supporters, and they claim that, I want to ask you this, right banning of online gaming gambling in the Philippines will push, number one, online gambling underground, and then you can't criminalize players anymore because if you ban it, mahirap na sila hanapin. Some advocates say it will do more harm than good. What are your thoughts?

SET: Well, yesterday I said, kung ako lang ang masusunod, Ms. Karen, I want a total ban in right now, diba? Pero syempre may mga procedures, there are laws, diba? We have to take into consideration. Yesterday, during the session, binibilang ko halos lahat ng members, halos lahat ng senador ayaw sa online gaming. And they were giving us reasons. So naririnig ko na. Pero siyempre tama ka, as a committee chair, mag-hear kami, narinig ko na yung side ng mga senador. Of course, gusto ko rin marinig yung side ng gobyerno, ng Department of Finance, ng PAGCOR. Kasi sila naman yung nag-i-implement nito, Ms. Karen. Hindi naman kami. We can only suggest to the government na, Mr. President, sir, ito po ang problem. We have social issues na right now na sobrang hindi naman nagagawa ng paraan. Marami nang nalululong. I mean, parang cancer siya. Like, alam mo, Ms. Karen, may pinaparesearch na ako sa tao ko, they say like, every city, every town in this country, nandyan merong online gambling. So affected na.

Q: Yeah, and I wanted to ask you because we do these stories in TV Patrol also. At yung mga nasa TV Patrol, yung security guard na naka minimum wage, kunyari P650 a day, magtatabi siya ng tatlong daan pang online gambling niya. Imagine ha 300 half instead ng pambili ng bigas, diba? To spend it sa anak mo. It's going into gaming, gambling. So, the online gambling now targets the very poor. Piso-piso ang taya, diba? Kada laro. But the big issue is it's attached to an e-wallet like GCash, I'm not sure if Paymaya too, but GCash spoke recently and said they will follow any regulation. So madali magsugal sa telepono dahil nakadikit sa GCash. Before a ban, other than a ban, is there a way to remove GCash from gaming? In other words, you can't access GCash. Pwede ba yun?

SET: That I have to look into, Ms. Karen, sa committee hearing. Actually, kaya sa committee hearing na gagawin natin next week, kung kakayanin, iimbitahan natin hindi lang ang executive, kundi pati yung mga stakeholders, like yan, 'yung e-wallet, tapos yung iba't-ibang mga social media platforms. Also siguro yung church. Pero wala man tayong batas, Miss Karen, sila, yung e-wallet na yan. Let's not forget na we also have social responsibilities. Di ba? Sa Globe, you are a big company. Paymaya, malaki kayong kumpanya. Hindi lang naman ang pag-nenegosyo ay para kumita. We also have to consider that we have social responsibilities. Look around us. Kung yung negosyo natin, nakakasakit na sa kapwa, then siguro we have to reinvent. Kung ngayon itong GCASH na ito, hindi naman masama ang GCASH, Ms. Karen. Alisin lang siguro ng Globe, ng PayMaya, what have you yung gaming, di ba? Yung gambling. Hindi nga gambling, saan nilalagay na doon? Games. Kaya pagpunta yung anak mo, oh games pala ito. Mag-tap tapos meron pala siyang laman na GCASH dahil binigyan mo ng GCASH, dahil pambaon niya, isusugal nya yun. You see the effect? Huwag na sanang antayin ng mga kumpanya na ito na sabihan pa sila, gagawa ng batas. Isipin nyo na lang, you guys have social responsibilities and we are facing a crisis. Ms. Karen, online gambling problem is a crisis. Sa tingin ko, crisis na ito, Ms. Karen.

Q: But what will it take a ban, for the President to issue a ban? The President, remember at the start of his term, he started with Pogo, no? Pogo ba? E-sabong? Hindi ko na maalala. Ano po ba yun?

SET: The e-sabong, Ms. Karen, it was the time of the former president Rodrigo Duterte. Dito sa POGO, it's under PBBM na.

Q: Yan. Oo. So both of them essentially banned e-sabong and then Pogo. Pero ang e-sabong and itong PIGO, itong online gambling, is technically the same. Iba lang yung laro, but you are still gambling using your phone. Di ba? Pareho lang siya eh.

SET: Actually, Ms. Karen, let me correct you on that.

Q: Okay, go ahead, sir.

SET: Nag-focus ang Senate na i-ban ang POGO. Actually, kung titignan mo, ang biktima ng POGO, Ms. Karen, is mga Chinese sa mainland or any parts of the world. Yun ang kanilang kliyente. Itong bago ngayon na PIGO, inalis mo na yung Philippine offshore, ginawa namang Philippine Inshore Gaming Operations. Pilipino ang biktima. Mga kababayan natin tayo ang nabibiktima. So kung mag-iisip-iisip ka, malaki yung kinikita ng POGO by the billions din ang taxes, pinasara natin. Pero pinalitan naman ito ngayon, itong mga PIGO, itong mga online gaming. Parang sana man lang nagkaroon ng parameters. Sana man lang na mga naggumawa ang PAGCOR bago lahat na ito, na mga papano ba natin maiwasan. But PAGCOR, in fairness, they can only do so much. Kailangan din siguro ng enforcement. Kailangan, yun tama kayo sinasabi mo, what if they go underground? Yun nga ang problem eh. Kaya gusto ko marinig sa PAGCOR. Sige, anong option? Sasabihin nyo, lalagay tayo ng parameters regulation. How do you do it? How will you do that? Ready ba ang ating law enforcement? Kasi ang problem dyan, Ms. Karen, tama ka naman. Total ban, mag-a-underground, hahanapin pa rin ng mga tao. Ready ba ang law enforcement natin? NBI, CIDG, PNP, are they ready? Eh alam naman natin, Ms. Karen, huwag naman sumama ang loob ng mga current leaders ng PNP at NBI, previously, nalalagyan eh. Huhulihin. Dadalhin sa presinto. Maglalagay yung operator. Papakawalan naman. Hindi na aabot sa piskal. Diba? So, useless. Tapos number two, yung DICT natin dapat maging ready na. Yung mga URL dapat minomonitor lang, i-report lang sa PNP. O dito, nandito itong site na ito. Huhulihin. But then again, bubukas na naman ang ibang site yung illegal operator.

Q: But won't this change? Kasi the phone in itself is addicting, di ba? The smartphone is addicting in itself, right? Tapos lagyan mo pa ng gaming sa smartphone plus access to an e-wallet, then your addiction becomes full-blown. Tanong ko, Senator, pag tinanggal mo yung access sa e-wallet, do you think ang online gambling gaming would still be widespread? No.

SET: Yes it still be widespread kasi magkakaroon na ngayon ng mga agent-agent, di ba? Pwede ka magpa-load. Loadan mo ako. Yan ang nangyari before sa mga online sabong. Loadan mo ako. Hindi pa uso dati ang mga gcash-gcash na yan sa online sabong. Meron nang mga agent-agent. Yung agent, o loadan mo nga ako ng 5,000. Ganon din eh. So kailangan totally alisin mo na dyan sa cellphone yung online gambling. May pinikaiba pala kasi ibang tao online gaming. Online gaming, ang ML, nga yung mga bata, online gaming yun. Pero online gambling, yung nagpupustahan na. So yun yung kailangan, alisin na talaga sa cellphone yung online gambling.

Q: Oo. Now, kasi I agree with you completely. Meron naman casino kung gusto mo sumugal, di pumunta ka dun. Right? Meron naman, kunyari, if you want to gamble via games, then you go to a certain place that's licensed by PAGCOR to do that. But it should not be accessible on your phone. What are the chances of this pushing through when the President himself did not mention it in the SONA?

SET: I heard the Undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Office was saying na pinag-aaralan pa. Ibig sabihin, may report na ang PAGCOR. In fairness naman sa Pangulo, what I heard, binigyan siya ng report ng PAGCOR ni Chairman Tencgco. Tinignan niya yung income. Tapos hiningi niya rin what I heard from my informant, humingi din siya ano ang cons. Mahirap naman kung sasabihin niya ay kontra ako eh tinitingnan din naman niya. Kasi the President is also looking for ways, the Executive is always looking for ways, yung income para sa ika nga because we use that for our national budget, di ba? Kasi alam naman natin, you and me know, Ms. Karen, laging may shortfall ng collections ng BIR, ng cost of, it's not enough. Itong PAGCOR earning, usually, napupunta yan sa mga social services. Lalo na sa social services.

Q: But then PAGCOR is earning off the backs of the very poor kasi may mayaman naman hindi naman mag-o-online gambling. Busy ang mayaman di ba.

SET: I disagree.

Q: Meron ka yung Congressman.

SET: Yung mambabatas hindi naman mahirap yun.

Q: Pero sabong pinanunood niya eh. That's why we are talking about...

SET: Yun na nga ang masama eh. Ilegal na, online pa. Ilegal, wala na dapat tayong online sabong pero meron. And then tapos online gaming pa.

Q: So ang tanong ko sa iyo, may e-sabong pa ba ngayon? Because e-sabong supposed to... There is?

SET: What I heard from my informants from the PNP and the CIDG, three or four pa na meron isa sa Mindanao, meron isa dito sa Luzon, they're doing it sa mga farm. Sa farm, lalagyan ng camera, lalagyan, set up, and then magsusugal. There is I think three or four more online sabong. One in Northern Luzon.

Q: Okay. But how do they bet online if GCash is no longer accessible to e-Sabong?

SET: No, agent. May mga agent-agent. Gano'n na, bumalik sa gano'n. Ite-text kita, Miss Karen, pa-loadan mo nga ako ng ganito para doon sa site na yun. Yung agent na yun, siya magsasabi sa'yo. For example, Juan, dito ka pumunta sa site na ito may online sabong tapos doon ka magpapaload sa kanya.

Q: Is there a study that exists on the effects of online gambling to families? Kasi ang mga kwento, ang mga magsasaka, yung ilan hindi nagtatrabaho, nagi-gaming gambling. Meron mga janitor, ganun din, jeepney driver, nakatambay. Yun yung mga story na lumalabas sa balita. Is there a study on the effects?

SET: Hindi yung nakailangan ng study, Ms. Karen, because kagaya mo, you already have an idea, may experience ka. Ako, I went to the market, nag-ikot ako, nakita ko yung nasa meat section. Akala ko nung pinipindot, akala ko yung income, nag-i-scatter pala 'yung sa kabila na naman, ganun din, i-scatter din. Sabi ko, oh my God, di ba? So, yan ang problem. I mean, maraming games, klase ng online gambling. Yung tinatawag natin na scatter, yun ang pinakasikat ngayon. Nandyan yung online bingo, yung mga senior citizen, yun nga yung mga biktima sila, yung mga online. Imbis na yung kanilang social amelioration, napupunta doon yung iba. Hindi naman lahat pero nakakapektado eh. Kasi meron silang pinupuntahan ng mga site na pwede magtaya. Pero pag alisin mo ito totally sa mga cellphone, siguro kailangan. Kaya nga doon sa aming committee hearing, papatawag ko rin lahat ng telcos. I will ask them, can you help us? Wala pa nga ang batas but can you? Siyempre after listening doon sa gobyerno, o ikaw anong parameters ninyo gobyerno? Ano ang regulations?

Q: Can the DICT, I'm curious, you make a very good point. Can the DICT at this point or does it have to be Congress? Can they already ban e-wallets from being used in online gambling? Because magde-decrease yun ah. It will still exist but when you make it harder for people, you will gamble less. Kasi ang GCash is so accessible. Lahat ng Pilipino naka-GCash. Do you need a law? Do you need a law?

SET: That I have to look, Ms. Karen, if you already have. Because bago ako dito sa committee na ito, I really have to look into this. Over the weekend, I'll study it and then I will ask people na naging chairperson ng committee on games and amusement. So I will really have to look into this. Pero as far as I know, Ms. Karen, hindi na siguro kailangan ng law. Sabi ko nga, we are, may crisis tayo. I mean, ang daming Pilipino ngayon na nalululong sa sugal. Baka pwede naman, pinapakiusapan natin o pakiusapan natin ang telcos. Baka naman pwede kayong tumulong?

Q: Kasi may income yan eh. Senator, may income na kaakibat yan sa kanila.

SET: I know that, Ms. Karen. Income? O sige, sabihin natin. Income, mababawasan ang income nila. Pero paano naman yung tinatawag na social responsibility mo sa bayan na ito, di ba? Wala ka ng pakialam sa paligid mo. Di baleng maadik sa sugal yan. Di baleng ikaw wala na makain. May mga batang hindi na nag-aaral because sa sugal. Dahil sa'yo, dahil nagpapadala ng pera. Dahil magpapadala ng Gcash, what have you, paymaya. But what we have, everybody may responsibilidad din naman tayo. Hindi lang tayo, ikaw nga, yung iba dyan, may mga press release na corporate responsibility, etc., etc. Now, gusto natin makita yung sinasabing yung corporate responsibility. Social responsibility. Ipakita nyo nga sa amin, eh malalaking kumpanya kayo, diba?

Q: Okay. So, when you start the hearing in the Senate, who will you be inviting? Sino ang pupunta doon?

SET: Of course, definitely what I heard is halos lahat ng senador, hindi lang yung mga members and vice chair.

Q: That's one. But I meant, who will you be inviting?

SET: I will be inviting definitely PAGCOR. Number 1. Number 2, Department of Finance. Magkano ba mawawala kasi Department of Finance, Secretary Ralph Recto saying malaki ang generations, revenue generations, pero karamihan nasa illegal gaming ang mga ito. So, sayang. Number three, we will call, of course, itong mga Globe na ito, itong Paymaya na ito, telcos. Okay? Number four, tatawagin natin yung mga social media, yung Facebook, kasi nandun eh. Yung mga advertisement eh. YouTube, di ba? TikTok, nandoon. Lahat na ito, Ms. Karen. We want to hear. We will invite also the church. We will invite siguro association of parents. We will invite ika nga, educators para lahat ng stakeholders, Ms. Karen. We want to listen to them. Kasi mahirap naman, tigil yan, madaling sabihin eh. Tigil. Baka mamaya, eh hindi naman pala ninyo napatigil, nag-underground lang. Tama din naman yung executive department. Pag pinatigil yan, mag-underground. Kaya nga, kailangan imbitahan din natin ang NBI, ang PNP. Pag pinatigil ba ito, are you guys ready?

Q: Yeah. Kasi, actually, we have members of our team that actually tried it, no? Sumampol sila eh, ng ano, how easy it is to actually gamble. And it was so easy because PAGCOR's claiming there's a know your customer, there's an age verification. But it doesn't really mean much, diba? Are you above 18? Yes. Wala namang hihingi ng birth certificate. So it doesn't matter. But the problem, they said, it's so easy because you can link your GCash and Paymaya accounts to the online casino and sports betting platform to deposit funds. Meaning, pwede mo i-link eh. So, kumbaga yung pondo mo pang sugal, ready na, nakalink na. So, that's what I wanted to ask you. Is it possible if a total ban is not yet approved? Pwede bang utusan na i-delink yun? No more linking?

SET: I believe pupwede mas kaya but I will still have to consult the other members of this Committee on Games and Amusement, lalo na yung mga senior lawmakers natin sa Senado. We will ask them. Previously si Sen. Mark Villar, ang chairperson dyan. And then I think my brother also Raffy became the [vice-]chairperson of Games and Amusement. So I'll be asking them later. That's a good point though. Tingnan natin kung pwede. Pero you know, kanina ko pa sinasabi, Mr. Karen, kay may batas, kay wala. Yung responsibilidad mo as a company, may crisis tayo, Globe. May crisis tayo, Smart. We have a crisis, diba? Can you help? Walang iniwan yan, Miss Karen. Meron tayong delubyo, binaha. Papasok dyan yung social responsibility. Hindi lang dapat sa delubyo, mga baha kayo papasok ng mga malaking company. Pati ngayon, ganito, crisis ito eh. This is a crisis. We are in crisis. We need your help. The government is asking for your help. Help, ika nga, habang wala pang batas. Globe, Smart, what have you, Talk N' text, everybody, help, di ba? Oo.

Q: And Senator, would it be alright if you should invite families? You should invite families.

SET: I would say like parents, families, di ba? Church, school, di ba? May mga association diyan. Para everybody can hear. Kasi I'm sure in that hearing, everybody will be watching. Di ba? Ano bang meron? Pero right now, Ms. Karen, kahit ano pang sabihin, we make 1 trillion a year. Pero yung social ills, yung effect naman, marami na sa siya. It outweighs na we. Yung benefits. The problem outweighs the benefits, Ms. Karen.

Q:Oo. Kung bagay yung mahirap na, lalo pang hihirap. And you're building a nation of gamblers.

SET: And then let me correct you on that. Yung sinasabi mo magtatabi ng 300 yung security guard. No, kasi pag natalo siya, Ms. Karen, ang sugarol kasi gustong bawiin. Ay, meron pa akong 300 pa. Susubukan ko, baka mabawi ko pa. Hanggang sa maubos na, karamihan yan ang problema ng mga nagsusugal. Hindi titigil hanggat meron pa. Maramihan yan ang problema ng mga nagsusugal. Hindi titigil hanggat meron pa. Sugal ko pa ito kasi meron pa. Babawi, sayang, nanalo na ko. May masama pa, Ms. Karen, ang ibang mga sites, papanalunin ka para sasabihin, 100% cashback. Patatamain ka. Kunwari, naglagay ka ng 1,000, patatamain ka. Siyempre, naganahan ka, baka pwedeng maging 2,000, 3,000 ito. Isusugal mo. Hanggang sa naubos yung 1,000 mo, lo-loadan mo na naman another thousand hanggang sa wala ka ng sweldo, hindi eh, yung mga sugarol, Miss Karen, walang tinitignan yan, magsusubi ako ng 300, uwi na ako, no? At karamihan ng mga sugarol, ang palusot lagi sa asawa, na-hold up ako, na-snatch, na-laglag yung wallet, na may contribution kami. Yun yun lagi kaya ako...

Q: You know, Senator, this is your first term, right. And the Tulfo brand is known for advocating for the issue of the people, right. So we have e-sabong, we have POGO but online gambling you have two listed companies in the stock market so this isn't like e-sabong and POGO in that sense. How will you be able to hold your stand? Right? Because the worry is being compromised in the end. You may have business people approaching you. You know, those that are running this, they're listed in the market for you to soften.

SET: You know, Ms. Karen, alam nyo, so many times na, even I was still in Congress, even I was still in the media, they do that. Pero if it really affects the people, lalo na yung mga maliliit, then it's really, tsaka common sense yun, Miss Karen. Yung moral mo, yung morality na, where do you stand? Ito, maraming buhay ang nasisira. I mean yung sinasabi mo, malalaking kumpanya listed sa stock exchange. E ganoon naman pala eh. Nabuhay kayo dati sa mga kumpanya na yun na wala pang online gaming dahil meron kayong mga ikanga mga casinos. Meron kayo kagaya yung Bingo Plus na yan. Meron naman sa mga SM dati yan, di ba? Nag-online lang sila. Pero marami. Lumaki nga ang kita nila. Pero tignan mo naman, Miss Karen. I mean, I'm sure, nag-triple ang kita nila kasi hindi na kailangan pumunta ng casino, hindi na pumunta kailangan sa mall para magbingo. Hindi na, dahil madali. Kahit natutulog, magising ng hating gabi. Eh 24/7 naman yung mga online gambling na yan. So nagtataya pag isip, pag jumingle, tataya muna. Yung iba hindi na nagkakapuyat-puyat na. Yun na nga ang problem is Karen, malala na kasi I have been hearing doon sa mga kasamahan ko na yung driver nila, pag inaantay doon sila, nag-online gambling. Yung iba naman, yung yaya, pag wala na yung amo, nag-online gambling. Naubos yung pera, di ba? Tama ka, yung mga mahihirap ang very vulnerable dito. Kaya kailangan, it has to stop. Problema nga ng gobyerno, Miss Karen. Yung mga lalo ng mga mahihirap, diba dati, narinig lang natin, pinang-to-tong its ang 4Ps. Eh nakakatakot ngayon baka yung 4Ps ngayon, na mga pera, napupunta lang dyan sa online gambling, Miss Karen.

Q: We're still joined by Senator Erwin Tulfo. Alright, Senator, you were ambushed by reporters and you said something I think it's quite big. You just said President Marcos Jr. has ordered the temporary suspension of the release of the funds and you said you had a source in Malacañang who told you. Can you expound on this?

SET: Even before the SONA, Ms. Karen, even before elections na pinahold na ni PBBM, lahat ng flood control projects, yung kaya nga may tawag sila yan, naka-FLR. If you hear FLR, it's a term like for later release. Pero karamihan dyan, by the billions, hindi pa pinapayagan yung Presidente. Kasi may nakita siya, there is a problem. Nag-umpisa yan, Ms. Karen, noong matapos siya mabatikos noong last SONA na flood control. Tapos sabi niya, malapit na matapos. Remember? Malapit ako. Natapos na 5,500. Eh binaha tayo, medyo na-shock din yung Pangulo. Like, what happened? Kinausap niya ang DPWH. That's according to my sources. Nag-usap sila. Sabi, sir, may mga flood control kasi na hindi naman talaga; nakatiwangwang lang, naka-tengga lang dyan. It's not, wala, wala talaga. Hindi na gamit. So ginawa ni PBBM, hinold lahat itong for this year, lahat ng flood control. Dahil nakita niya kalokohan. At nakita niya napakalaki, tinitignan niya bakit ito? Wala namang baha dito pero may flood control siya. Bakit naman dito? Dapat dito yung flood control. Tapos nakita niya na may mga lugar na sobrang laki ng flood control. Tapos isang company lang ang gumagawa. Tapos unfortunately, may ari pa, politiko. So nagdududa na sabi ni PBBM para one plus one lang naman yun. Kaya nga, pinahold niya. Maraming, sa totoo lang Ms Karen maraming umaray na politiko. Kasi, di ba ito gagamitin sana nila pang kampanya? Eh hinold ng pangulo eh. At wala siya pakialam na no. In fairness to him, kasi nakita niya something is wrong. Kaya nga, ngayong SONA, expected ko na yun, na itatackle niya yung flood control na yan, nung SONA. Kaya nga, nagpapalakpakan mga tao. Kasi alam ng lahat, Ms. Karen. Wala tayong maayos na flood control. Kaya nga, during election campaign, I was saying, hayaan na ang flood control sa DPWH. Hindi trabaho ng politiko mag-identify ng mga baha. Trabaho yan ng public works and highways. Tutal, every city, every town, every district. Meron naman district engineer, di ba? Ano yung mga trabaho ng mga yan? Magpalaki ng...

Q: So, Senator, are you saying that-- the flood control budget allocation for 2025 alone is at P346 billion? That's in my chart of the budget. Kasi from 2011 to 2025, 1.9 trillion ang flood control budget. But that's 2011 to 2025. Pero 2025 alone, it's 346 billion. So in the chart that I have, diba nagkaroon ng 142 billion additional sa DPWH. This was the controversial 2025 insertion, right? Are you saying yung mga nakalagay doon na flood control, Bulacan, Sorsogon, Davao, Misamis, etc., etc., hindi muna ire-release or hindi ni-release?

SET: Mayroon talagang re-release na nakita nila talagang kailangan na. Pero marami doon, Ms. Karen, na hindi naman binabaha, naka-flood control. So, yun ang nagdaduda yung Pangulo. Hindi naman siya siguro tanga, Kaya hinold niya, naka-FLR yun. That is the problem. Alam mo, tama naman si Secretary Bonoan. Hindi lang panahon ngayon. Huwag sisihin yung administration. Actually, it goes beyond even panahon pa ni PGMA. Kay PGMA, ang problema, panahon ni dating Pangulong ERAP and then PGMA, ang focus ng kanilang mga pork barrel, nasa FMR, Farm to Market Road, kasi tubong lugaw yun. Isang lugar, papadalhan lang ng bulldozer, tatambakan ng graba, FMR na, which is mali. Kaya nga binago yan nang konti. Noong panahon ni Pinoy yata, ginawang hindi. Dapat ang FMR sementado, pwedeng bilaran ng mga bigas, ng mga palay. Yun ang ginawa yata. So after noon kay Gloria, nagkabaha tayo, ondoy. Remember during the time of... diyan na nagumpisa yung mga flood control, flood control. Actually may master plan na. We heard that flood control nung panahon ni P-Noy, nung magkaroon ng baha, yung ondoy pala, I'm sorry. May master plan na sila Mar Roxas dati na catch basin yung Manila Bay and then magkakaroon lang ng spillway going to Manila Bay pag mababa na yung kuan. Pero doon mo na sa Laguna, de Bay, diba? Eh, hindi naman na-implement. Ang nangyari, naging per district ang implementation. Eh, mangyari, hindi naman na napupunta talaga sa flood control, Ms. K.

Q: So will the Senate also investigate this?

SET: Yes, definitely Ms. Karen. We've talked about it already. Papasilip yan. As a matter of fact, may bill na finile. Sige kasi ang problema dyan, marami daw mga politiko, ang kanilang trabaho is ang kanilang sideline ay mangontrata, mga kontraktor. Senator Chiz filed last Monday a bill na parang ganito eh. If you're a politician, you are not allowed to have a construction business up to third degree. Pati mga pinsan mo hindi pwede mag-negosyo pag ikaw ay politiko. Kasi, ang mangyayari yung pondo mo, ikaw din ang gagawa o yung pamilya mo. Diba, yun yon.

Q: Well, I think overall, you do have six more years ahead of you. Your last statement to close, what can they expect from Erwin Tulfo?

SET: All I can say, Ms. Karen, I promised na I will really work. Di ba? They voted for me, and I said, and di ba, you interviewed me, and then you asked me this question, like, what can you tell of the people? Sabi ko, if you will vote for me, hindi masasayang ang boto mo. So that's what I am going to do. Diba? I will keep on working. Later nga, dahil na-assign na 'yung social services, I mean social justice and welfare. I will be meeting with the Secretary Rex Gatchalian para pag-usapan namin yung mga problema ko, ano ba mga problema. Isa dyan yung we will be tackling is like baka pwede naman, gawing konti na lang yung mga requirements pag humingi ka ng mga ayuda sa gobyerno kasi ngayon napakadaming requirements isa yan. Tapos siguro baka pwedeng instead of bigyan mo lang sila ng ika-nga ayuda right away. 5,000/10,000, baka pwede na lang, pwede bang, bigyan nalang sila ng negosyo? Baka pwede yung 4Ps pag-aralan natin Sec. Rex na hindi na four-piece, bigyan nalang sila yung mga families ng ika-nga puhunan para, ika-nga you teach them how to fish. Huwag mo na sila bigyan ng isda. Give them a hook or a net so that they can fish. So, mas maganda siguro gano'n para hindi natin tinuturuan sila na parang dole out nalang na naka-abot yung kamay nilang gano'n. We teach them how to work. Use the money na pampuhunan nila para naman at the same time, umiikot sa economy, diba? It will help kahit na. Sabihin nila natin, Ms. Karen, one good example is bangko. Diba yung kanilang street economy. Ang problema dyan, yung mga LGUs natin, hinuhuli, kinakasuhan, etc., mga illegal vending etc. dahil sa sidewalk daw eh, natitigil hindi nakapagnegosyo, ito yung mga negosyo na eh, ika, makakatulong sa ekonomiya.

MS. KAREN DAVILA: On that note, I want to thank you for joining me today, Senator Erwin Tulfo Thank you sir, and good luck to you

SET: Thank you very much Ms. Karen, thank you po.