Senator Raffy Tulfo announced on Tuesday that he expects to lose his chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Public Services following his recent transition to the minority bloc, though he remains hopeful about retaining at least one of his current committee assignments.
The developments follow a massive leadership shakeup in the upper chamber on May 11, which saw several key Senate positions declared vacant. The revamp paved the way for the installation of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as the new Senate President, replacing Senator Vicente Sotto III, who has now assumed the role of Senate Minority Leader. Tulfo remains aligned with Sotto within the newly configured 11-member minority bloc.
Acceptance of Majority Rules
Prior to the upper chamber’s reorganization, Tulfo had concurrently chaired three major Senate committees since July 2025: public services, labor, and migrant workers.
On Monday, Acting Majority Leader Joel Villanueva announced a portion of the new leadership roster, naming Senator Rodante Marcoleta as the incoming chairperson of the Committee on Public Services. Tulfo took the transition in stride, explaining the traditional parliamentary dynamics that govern committee distributions:
“Kaya ko nakuha ‘yung public services na ibinigay sa akin dahil nasa majority ako,”
”I was able to get public services given to me because I was part of the majority,” Tulfo said during an ambush interview.
“Ngayon nasa minority ako, it’s okay na ‘yun mapunta naman sa majority,”
”Now that I am in the minority, it’s okay for that to go to the majority,” he added.
Hope for Labor and Migrant Panels
Despite giving up the public services panel, Tulfo expressed hope that he would be allowed to hold onto either the Committee on Labor, Employment, and Human Resources Development, or the Committee on Migrant Workers.
“Okay lang ‘yung public services mawala, meron pa akong DOLE (Department of Labor and Employement) and then DMW (Department of Migrant Workers). Sana ‘yung DMW hindi mawala,”
“It’s okay to lose public services, I still have DOLE [labor] and then DMW [migrant workers]. I hope the DMW won’t be taken away,” he noted.
Nevertheless, the broadcaster-turned-lawmaker emphasized that he is fully prepared for any outcome, including a scenario where the new Senate majority strips him of all his leadership posts.
“Pero kung halimbawa, kinuha sa akin lahat, okay lang, maiintindihan ko,”
”But if, for example, they take everything from me, it’s okay, I will understand,” Tulfo stated.
Commitment to Advocacy
Tulfo maintained that losing his committee gavels would not diminish his legislative output or his commitment to his core advocacies.
“Pag nawala ‘yung mga committee ko, ipagpapatuloy ko pa rin ‘yung mga trabaho ko as senator na matulungan ‘yung mga manggagawa, ‘yung mga OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) at ‘yung mga nasa public transport groups,”
”If my committees are taken away, I will still continue my work as a senator to help the laborers, the OFWs [Overseas Filipino Workers], and those in public transport groups,” he concluded.