Senator-elect Raffy Tulfo (Image from his Facebook account)
MANILA, Philippines — Senator-elect Raffy Tulfo on Thursday said he will not “bow” down to his colleagues once he joins the Senate majority bloc.
“I’ll be joining the majority pero it doesn’t mean na lahat ng mga sasabihin nila, lahat ng gusto nilang mangyari kailangan ko na agad susundin, ako’y ba-bow agad sa kanila o sa mga kasamahan ko,” Tulfo said in an ANC interview.
(I’ll be joining the majority but it doesn’t mean that everything they will say, everything they want to happen, I will immediately follow, that I will bow down to my colleagues.)
Tulfo, a political neophyte, said he will abstain from voting on measures which he feels would be harmful to the sector he seeks to represent in the upper chamber.
“[Kapag] nakita ko na hindi makakatulong ‘yan, hindi maganda sa mga taong nirerepresenta ko and the reason why I went to Senate, then I will abstain. I will say ‘Hey, guys, ayokong sumali diyan, labas muna ako diyan.’ I’ll abstain,” he said.
(If I see that it will not help or it will harm the sector that I am representing and the reason why I went to the Senate, then I will abstain. I will say ‘Hey, guys, I don’t want to join, count me out.’ I’ll abstain.)
Tulfo ran for senator with a promise to protect the rights of Filipino workers.
In an interview with reporters during the proclamation of winning senators on Wednesday, Tulfo said he would want to head the Senate labor committee.
Tulfo ranked third in this year’s senatorial race, garnering 23.3 million votes.