Senator Raffy Tulfo has firmly shut the door on a potential presidential run in 2028, reiterating that he is completely content with his current legislative role and will seek reelection to the Senate instead.
The broadcaster-turned-lawmaker clarified his political stance on Tuesday following the release of a commissioned Pulse Asia survey conducted from February 27 to March 2. The poll revealed that in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, Tulfo is locked in a 46% to 46% statistical tie with Vice President Sara Duterte for the country’s top post.
Despite the competitive numbers, Tulfo remained unmoved.
“Una sa lahat, buong pagpapakumbaba, ako po ay nagpapasalamat sa tiwala. Pero I said it before and I’m gonna say it again. Wala pa akong balak na tumakbo as president sa 2028,” Tulfo told reporters. “However, I believe I’m doing very well as senator and I can do a lot more as a senator. Therefore, maasahan niyo re-electionist ako sa 2028.”
NO REPEATING PAST POLITICAL MISSTEPS
When pressed by members of the media if skyrocketing survey ratings in the future could change his mind, the senator maintained a definitive stance.
“Maski na magpahanggang langit, talagang hindi,” Tulfo asserted. “I’m very happy as senator, like I said. So bakit pa ako aakyat sa higher office?”
Tulfo added that he wishes to avoid the pitfalls of previous political figures who immediately leveraged their initial terms to aim for higher positions, often resulting in premature defeats.
“(May) mga elected officials, first term pa lang sila… tumatakbo ulit sila sa higher office… and they failed,” he observed.
GEOGRAPHIC AND CLASS BREAKDOWN OF THE POLL
The commissioned survey, requested by the office of Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, provided deep analytical insights into the hypothetical Duterte-Tulfo showdown:
- National Capital Region (NCR): The two figures are tied at 42%.
- Balance Luzon: Tulfo holds a dominant lead of 72% against Duterte’s 19%.
- Visayas and Mindanao: Duterte commands the southern regions, securing 64% in the Visayas (vs. Tulfo’s 32%) and a landslide 90% in Mindanao (vs. Tulfo’s 9%).
- Socioeconomic Demographics: Tulfo led among Class ABC with 49% to Duterte’s 29%. Class D recorded a near-tie with Duterte at 48% and Tulfo at 47%, while Duterte swept Class E with 63% over Tulfo’s 32%.
While completely ruling out his own candidacy for the presidency, Tulfo concluded that he remains fully open to endorsing and supporting a 2028 presidential contender whose core legislative advocacies align with his own focus on labor rights and public welfare.