MANILA, Philippines — Among President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s marching orders for his incoming secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is to digitize the distribution of aid and subsidies and clean the list of beneficiaries to weed out those who shouldn’t be on the list.
Erwin Tulfo himself made the revelation on Tuesday, saying this was relayed to him by Marcos’ incoming Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez, who had served as the President-elect’s spokesperson.
“Gusto niya i-digitalize ang pagbibigay ng ayuda sa DSWD para mas mabilis. At the same time, linisin ang listahan ng DSWD ng mga hindi na kinakailangan na nandiyan dapat alisin na,” he said in a public briefing.
(He wants to digitalize the distribution of subsidies and to clean the list of beneficiaries to take out those who don’t need to be on it.)
Tulfo said Marcos wants to compare the DSWD’s list of beneficiaries with that of the local government units to determine who really need the aid.
“Para hindi masayang at ‘yung mga hindi nabibigyan ay mabibigyan na ngayon,” he said.
(This way, the money would not be wasted and those who are not receiving any aid will also be able to get it.)
He also said Marcos also wants him to focus on pandemic recovery, giving priority to those who lost their jobs during the pandemic and are currently suffering in poverty.
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Tulfo is slated to lead the DSWD in the incoming Marcos administration.
According to the Marcos camp, Tulfo was chosen for the post for “his involvement in covering and helping Filipinos here and abroad through his social programs and partnerships with other organizations.”
He also has been in public service, “doing social work [for] three decades,” the camp said.
Tulfo is the brother of Senator-elect Raffy Tulfo and former Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo.
He works as a broadcaster in the government media channel, People’s Television Network, and previously as a news anchor for media network TV5. He also hosted shows produced by his brother, Ben, who owned Bitag Media Unlimited Inc., which is known for hard-hitting public service programs.