00:18.5
estudyante. Ako, of course,
00:20.4
teacher din ako. So, malapit din sa puso niya.
00:22.5
I mean, I teach in the rest of the Philippines.
00:24.1
So, yung mommy ko ay
00:25.7
guro din. So, I come from a family of educators.
00:28.3
I'm an educator myself. So, obviously,
00:30.0
malapit din sa puso ko yan. So, I wanted to understand,
00:32.8
Senator, where does that come
00:34.3
from, that concern about
00:36.0
the DepEd? The reason I'm saying this,
00:38.2
Senator, is because yung education
00:40.0
system natin ay talagang malaking,
00:42.1
malalim yung problema talaga dyan. In fact, I heard
00:44.0
a lot of experts telling us, parang
00:45.8
ticking time bomb yan in a sense na nung pandemic,
00:50.1
Kung titignan mo yung World Bank studies
00:52.4
dun sa functional literacy,
00:54.6
ang baba ng scores natin.
00:56.5
Even compared sa, hindi lang
00:58.4
Asia, no? Yung mga ibang
00:59.7
napakahirap na bansa. So, I just
01:02.0
want to understand, Senator, where is this
01:03.9
coming from? Is it because you also recognize
01:05.9
ang lalim ng problema, ang daming
01:07.8
abuso nang ngyari, something radical
01:09.7
has to be done? Because ang daming pwede pang
01:11.6
ibang problema na pag-usapan sa bansa, di ba?
01:13.8
Exactly. Thank you for bringing that up
01:15.7
and for asking that
01:17.5
very important question.
01:20.8
more than a decade ago
01:27.7
complaints from parents
01:29.7
na may mga anak sa public
01:31.8
elementary and high school and their complaints
01:33.9
are pare-pareho na
01:35.6
sinisingil yung kanilang mga anak
01:37.9
for the contribution, pambili ng
01:39.6
electric fund, pambili ng
01:44.5
yung mga supplies
01:45.7
sa school, pambayad sa kuryente
01:48.0
ng eskwelahan, pambayad
01:49.8
ng security guard, janitor,
01:53.8
And they're using
01:57.8
makapag-collecta sila na they know there's a
01:59.7
no, na bawal yun.
02:01.6
So they said, well, it's Parents-Teachers Association
02:05.9
and it's voluntary.
02:08.4
So sinasabi ko palagi,
02:10.5
kung voluntary, ba't marami
02:11.8
na kukomplain sa akin? By the
02:13.7
thousands, we have to put a
02:15.7
stop to it. May budget naman ng DepEd
02:19.7
Meron naman yung MOOE.
02:21.7
So year in, year out,
02:24.3
palaging kailangan may contribution.
02:29.7
those students who are not able to
02:31.7
give that voluntary contribution
02:34.2
that they're asking,
02:38.1
Nilalagay sa group chat,
02:39.9
ito hindi pa nakapagbigay.
02:41.4
Ito nagbigay na ito.
02:42.1
Exactly. It's being bullied
02:45.7
and pinapagalitan sa lahat
02:47.7
ng mga klase. Sabihin, ito hindi pa
02:49.6
nag-contribute to. Ito nag-contribute na.
02:51.5
Ikaw hindi pa nag-contribute. So I was
02:53.8
telling DepEd for so many years,
02:55.9
even the previous administration
02:57.7
said, stop. But they wouldn't.
02:59.7
They wouldn't. They said,
03:01.8
we don't want to meddle into
03:03.8
that kind of issue because
03:05.5
it's a PTA, Parents
03:07.7
Teachers Association. They talked about
03:09.9
it in their meetings and they
03:11.7
both agreed, the parents of the teachers, na magkaroon
03:13.8
ng contribution for the improvement
03:15.7
of the school. Sabi ko, teka muna, what is
03:17.8
the purpose of the PTA? Sabi ko, di ba
03:19.6
ang purpose ng PTA for the teachers
03:21.7
and the parents, they will talk about
03:25.7
performance of their students. And how to
03:27.8
improve it. And how to improve it,
03:29.7
not how to improve your
03:31.3
skwelahan, your room, how to
03:33.3
buy paints, how to
03:38.0
flower base, electric
03:39.7
fans. Especially, mahirap yung mga estudyante.
03:41.6
Exactly. Sabi ko, kaya nga pumunta dyan sa
03:43.5
public school because mahirap to.
03:45.5
As a matter of fact, Richard,
03:47.3
sabi pa nga ng DepEd, itong
03:49.3
recent budget hearing namin, last,
03:51.4
sabi, yeah, we have this, what we called
03:55.6
program. And the purpose of
03:57.5
them having that feeding program,
03:59.7
public schools, para mainganyo yung mga bata
04:01.9
dahil karamihan sa kanila, they're so poor,
04:03.6
malnourished, and
04:05.1
they go to school hungry.
04:09.2
get to their classroom,
04:11.9
they fall asleep. Or some of
04:13.8
them don't go to school anymore.
04:15.6
To avoid that, para hindi magkaroon ng dropout,
04:18.6
nagkaroon ng feeding program.
04:19.6
Sabi ko, no, it defeats the purpose
04:21.6
na you having that feeding program and yet,
04:25.4
yung mga estudyante.
04:27.8
Hindi nilalagay mo ng laman dito.
04:29.7
Nilalabas mo yung laman dyan sa kabila.
04:31.2
Exactly. And then, how about those students
04:33.5
na umahasan sa four-piece yung parents?
04:36.3
So, what happens to those kids
04:37.8
na walang, yung mga parents na umahasan
04:39.7
sa four-piece from the government?
04:41.3
So, you will ask a
04:43.6
voluntary contribution from them.
04:45.7
Kasi kumisa meron yung tinatawag na peer pressure.
04:48.5
O nga, voluntary.
04:49.8
Pero yung mga katabi mong estudyante
04:51.7
na bibigay, ikaw, wala. Pag uwi mo ng bahay,
04:53.6
ma, si ganitong, ibigyan ko.
04:55.5
Especially mga bata, diba? Nagkakompare sila.
04:57.8
Exactly. At may konting suksungan dyan.
05:01.5
it has to stop. And I'm very glad
05:03.4
that DepEd did agree with me
05:06.5
come out with the
05:09.0
department order, putting a stop
05:11.3
to this voluntary contribution to the PTA.
05:14.2
So, sir, what you're saying is that
05:15.3
this is not about a particular administration
05:17.2
or person. This is a culture
05:19.2
of abuse and bullying na nangyari.
05:22.9
So, you're trying to fight against that culture of abuse.
05:25.5
Culture of abuse. It's been happening
05:27.1
for the past so many years.
05:28.9
Two administrations.
05:29.7
Before. Not this administration,
05:32.3
maski pa yung mga nakarang administration.
05:33.1
Yeah, exactly. This is a kultura na to.
05:35.4
Hindi ito one leadership or one
05:37.3
administration, among others. I mean, there was
05:39.2
an episode recently when you brought out
05:41.3
the list quite dramatically. I mean, you were quite
05:43.3
emotional when you were doing that. I'm sure
05:45.2
some people say, oh, the drama na na.
05:46.6
I still have the list. More than 10,000.
05:49.5
How did you get it? What's the process?
05:51.6
How do you, you know? Very easy.
05:55.4
Because I have these
05:57.1
complainants that went to my show
05:58.7
and then when I post it,
06:01.1
after I interviewed them, and then
06:03.2
it went viral, and then we have
06:05.3
thousands and thousands of complaints
06:06.8
in the comment section.
06:08.9
Ako rin nakaranas. Ako rin yung anak ko.
06:11.3
Ako rin yung anak ko. Ako, ako, ako.
06:12.6
From different provinces, from different towns.
06:15.4
And genuine mga tao na ito.
06:16.9
Genuine to it. Oh, hindi to troll.
06:19.0
Alam mo naman, hindi to troll sa
06:20.3
social media. No, no, no. Hindi to troll.
06:22.7
And nag-testing kami
06:26.1
randomly, and then
06:28.7
pinili namin different provinces and different
06:30.8
town cities, etc. And
06:32.6
they said, yes, talagang pati kami nakaranas
06:34.8
yan. Dapat i-stop na yan. Thank you, Mr. Trufo, for
06:36.6
bringing that up. Thank you, Senator. And we hope
06:38.9
na sana ma-solusyon na yung problema nga.
06:40.8
So, systemic talaga yung problema.
06:43.0
That's why I said, i-print nyo yan. Lahat ng mga
06:44.9
nag-comment, nagpapadala ng
06:46.9
comments about that
06:48.5
problema sa DepEd. So,
06:51.1
kinumpile namin at
06:52.2
inabot ng gano'ng pagkakaba because
06:54.0
more than 10,000 ata.
06:56.7
Yeah, I mean, Senator, I mean, again, I'm
06:58.6
siguro biased ako sa education and all of that,
07:00.7
but hindi nga, ang lalim ng problema
07:02.5
and when you ask about it, all of the
07:04.6
surveys, etc., sobrang
07:06.4
napag-iwanan ng Pilipinas, so kahit
07:08.2
fastest-growing economy tayo, etc., kung yung basic
07:10.4
education natin problemado. Kami nga,
07:12.5
nakikita namin sa graduate school at university
07:14.4
kasi yung mga umakit ngayon, yung
07:16.3
kalidad, it's not like before, no? So,
07:18.7
there's something more fundamental there.
07:20.3
But, Senator, beyond yung
07:22.3
pointing out yung culture of bullying
07:24.2
and trying to protect people, are you also,
07:26.6
you know, do you have a kind of a,
07:28.6
initiative to help na talagang iakyat
07:30.4
yung antas, yung kalidad ng edukasyon,
07:32.7
especially sa basic education? I think it starts
07:34.6
with the teachers. Dapat kung,
07:36.5
how can we get quality teachers? How can we
07:38.5
get good teachers kung mababa
07:42.7
And some of these teachers are being abused
07:46.1
taken advantage of.
07:49.0
Nakarinig ka ba ng mga loan sharking
07:50.6
sa mga teachers na
07:52.2
wala siyang nilalagay na ceiling
07:54.6
cup na kung hanggang saan na dapat
07:56.5
sila pinapayagan ng mangutang at
07:58.6
na magkakaroon ng tinatawag na
08:00.4
automatic deduction. Marami mga teachers
08:04.5
So, paano pong mga concentrator magtuturo
08:06.3
na iniisip nila yung paano yung mabayaran yung utang?
08:09.3
At ang bababa ng sweldo.
08:10.6
So, some teachers would rather go abroad.
08:18.1
better. So, hindi tayo
08:20.4
makakuha ng better teachers
08:22.0
kung ang sweldo natin sa mga teachers mababa
08:26.0
taken advantage pa siya. Pagdating sa
08:28.6
eleksyon, sa Comelec,
08:30.8
ginagamit sila. Iba sa kanila, hindi pa
08:32.4
nababayaran. So, we should have, we should
08:34.3
stop that. We should treat
08:36.3
our teachers better.
08:38.3
We should take care of our teachers too. Take care of our teachers
08:40.5
because the teachers takes care of
08:42.0
the students. And
08:43.8
overall, that takes care of the economy in the country.
08:46.8
And then, of course, dapat yung mga
08:48.3
textbook nasa ayos kasi may mga balita tayo.
08:50.6
Yung mga textbook, mali-mali yung spelling, mali yung
08:52.3
grammar, mali-mali yung
08:54.7
mga information na kalagay doon.
08:56.4
So, kasama rin doon.
08:58.6
The other thing you're quite
08:59.7
known for is also labor rights
09:01.8
issues. You know, you're active
09:03.7
on this also, especially yung OFWs
09:05.6
natin. Kasi, of course, I also work
09:07.7
back in the day doon sa
09:09.0
legislature, doon sa mga OFW affairs,
09:11.8
sa mga others. Marami tayong mga kaibigan,
09:13.7
kamag-anak ng OFWs.
09:15.5
So, lalong-lalong-lalong sigat kayo sa
09:17.6
mga yan because, you know, you kind of
09:20.5
channel to some sort of justice. Can you tell us a little bit
09:23.6
about this, the OFW
09:25.6
issue and what you're doing on that front
09:28.6
Well, first of all,
09:31.1
I would like to thank the OFWs
09:33.0
for supporting me. They've been
09:34.7
supporting me for so long.
09:38.5
remember the year when they started
09:40.4
supporting me. But I know I wouldn't be
09:42.5
Rafi Tulfo had it not been for the support
09:44.6
of the OFWs. That's why I really love
09:46.6
them so much. And I'll do everything
09:48.4
to make sure na malalagay sila
09:50.9
sa kabutihan, malalagay yung kanilang
09:52.5
kapakanan na ay maprotektahan.
09:54.3
Now, what is the problem
10:00.6
Well, saan tayo magsimula?
10:02.7
Saan tayo magsimula?
10:06.6
ng ating OFWs, they go abroad
10:08.6
for the sake of their family.
10:10.6
For the sake of the future of their family.
10:14.6
when they get there,
10:16.6
magtatrabaho sila.
10:18.6
Blood, sweat, and tears.
10:20.6
And then, habang nag-u-work
10:22.6
sila, nababalitaan nila
10:24.6
back in their country,
10:26.6
back here in the Philippines, na pag-abalita po sila.
10:28.6
Na yung kanilang anak ay minamaltrato, inaabuso, minamolestya, and then yung kanilang naiwan ng mister, ng babae, lasengo, etc.
10:38.0
Yun yung pinaka-nightmare ng marami sa ating mga OFWs. Unfortunately, napakarami yan. Napakataas ang bilang yan.
10:44.4
Yung social cost, no? Ang laki ng social cost.
10:46.5
And that's when I come in. And that's when I give solution to the problem. That's when I ask these DMWs or what to change some policies para mag-fit in dito sa mga problema ng mga OFWs na masolbe yung mga problema na kinaharap nila.
11:03.6
Yung mga nightmares nila, mabigyan natin ng solusyon at mag-iisin sila na okay na yung problema nila. Wala na.
11:10.7
Senator, are you looking at... I mean, in fairness, at least naman yung economy natin medyo mga at-at over the top.
11:16.5
The past decade or so, we're the fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia. But still, unemployment is a big problem. Inclusive growth is a big problem.
11:23.6
Are you hoping that down the road, maging optional na lang? I mean, in the real sense of the word na pwede kang magtrabaho sa Pilipinas as much as you can.
11:31.6
Medyo mas maganda lang bayad abroad. Hindi yung situation na desperado ka kaya nang abroad ka.
11:35.9
Kasi this issue of labor exporting is very unique to the Philippines over the past four decades or so.
11:40.5
Dalawa yan Richard. Una, malaking tulong yung pag-export natin.
11:45.9
Of course, contribution sa economy natin.
11:48.3
Sa economy natin. In fact, there were several times na nagkaroon ng global recession at hindi tayo masyadong napektohan dahil sa mga OFWs.
11:56.5
Meron tayong cushion. At to what social cost? Ito na nga.
12:01.4
Kung ako tatanungin, mas maganda kung wala na sa ating OFWs na tatrabaho sa abroad because alam ko yung hirap na magdinaan sa mga OFWs na sa abroad.
12:08.7
But the problem is, we don't have enough investment that will propel our economy.
12:16.0
So that these OFWs don't have to go abroad. Wala eh. Walang tayo sa mga investors.
12:22.1
And another problem siguro, bakit wala masyadong nagtitawal sa ating mga investors?
12:28.4
Bureaucratic red tape, corruption, electricity, price of the rent, property, infrastructures.
12:39.4
And then maybe we have to change some legislation to accommodate these investors' needs, etc.
12:44.2
Are you... I mean, I know...
12:45.9
I know that there are other committees and other senators focused on those issues but ease of doing business on the investment front
12:52.9
are those issues that you're also invested in the sense that, you know, kasi kung may pagkikasa mo na yung OFW issues,
12:58.7
eventually you have to make the Philippine economy accommodate more and more people dito sa ating bansa para hindi sila mag-abroad under very difficult conditions.
13:05.7
Yes, yes. Kailangan talaga natin mga investors. We need investors. We need them. Pero unfortunately, with the present set up,
13:14.2
especially sa ating peace and order situation, in fact, on Monday, I'll be giving a privileged speech tungkol dito sa nangyaring rampant kidnapping.
13:25.1
So this is early December. Just to be clear, once this show is out. So in early December, you're going to have a privileged speech on...
13:32.5
Yes. Pertaining to this rampant kidnapping. Chinese, Filipino-Chinese and Chinaman, or if I can call it Chinaman.
13:44.2
Filipino-Chinese or people from China, citizens of China, from Pogo. They're being kidnapped.
13:50.4
And the latest of which is inside an exclusive subdivision, well-guarded, gated subdivision, do nangyari mismo yung kidnapping.
14:02.2
Can you imagine that? Kung hindi nga safe yung mga well-guarded subdivision, gated subdivision, nakapag-kidnap sila ng mga tao doon, e paano pa tayo?
14:14.2
Nobody's safe anymore. And that has to be addressed. Now, pag narinig yan ang mga investors, whoa, wait a minute, why should I go there?
14:21.6
We should go somewhere else. We should go to Singapore, Vietnam.
14:24.6
Kasi banana republic to. Parang meron lang yung dating.
14:27.0
Exactly. E dyan, baka makidnap tayo. E kung saslog na subdivision, they are not protected, these people, e paano tayo mga investors?
14:35.5
So we have to take care of that problem. That's why I'm going to have a privileged speech and then later I'll file a resolution to investigate all these kidnappings
14:44.2
And based on my research and some information that I received, there are some, unfortunately, it's bad news. There are some people in the government institutions, na supposed to be these people are the ones who should protect the citizens, the people, from being kidnapped.
15:06.3
They're the ones who are part of the kidnappers.
15:10.5
Because may pera involved, no?
15:12.1
Members of the syndicate in kidnapping.
15:14.2
Senator, I mean, Senator, I mean, of course, you're not the first to raise this issue. This has been quite the POGO issue, concerns with criminality, concerns with tax evasion.
15:22.6
This was raised even before you became a senator. Are you in favor of like banning the POGOs altogether or anything like POGOs in the future?
15:30.4
I mean, banning the POGO altogether.
15:32.6
That's your stance?
15:33.3
That is my stance. Hopefully, next year, POGO will be gone. Because I'm the one who signed to ban POGO.
15:44.2
Forever. Not letting them come back anymore. Of course, but we have to give them at least a year or two.
15:50.9
A due process, transition of the issue.
15:53.9
And Senator, you're not worried about your safety and all of that when you take care of all? I mean, medyo controversial mga binabangan mo to, di ba? I mean, kung sindika itong target ng mga investigation, di ba?
16:05.5
If it's your time, your time.
16:07.3
That's your philosophy. Maybe we should have a separate podcast on, you know, yung resilience and all of that. Lalo yung mga kabataan, gusang-gusang.
16:14.2
Sir, can you give me a snippet before we go to the last part of this discussion? Like, where does this courage come from? I mean, how do you become courageous and, but not stupid?
16:25.1
I mean, if I could put it that way, like how do you find that balance? Kasi syempre, gusto mong, because you have to be around to help, right? Kung medyo hindi ka nag-iisip, then you're gone. Then you cannot help people. How do you find that balance, Senator? Of course, with best wishes.
16:36.9
Yeah, if you've seen so much suffering and you see the big inequality.
16:44.2
Napaka-taas ng gap. And then suffering from these poor people, the voiceless one, sinisipa-sipa, pinipitik-pitik, inaapi-api, niyuraki-yakan yung kanilang mga karapatan. That will make you angry.
16:58.4
And then yung mga nang-api, nandun sa itaas. And then especially people from the government who are supposed to help them and protect them, ito yung mga nang-api.
17:06.9
And ito yung mga nang-api, lumalapit sa iyo, umiiyak face to face. You talk to them every day.
17:14.2
Manginginig ka sa galit. Try sitting on my chair dyan sa TV5 and you'll see what I'm talking about.
17:23.7
Pag nakita mo, in tears, people are crying because they've been oppressed. And then they're nowhere to go. They're hungry.
17:31.3
Doon yung galit ko nagagaling. So naipon-ipon yan. So when I go out there, then that's when I, boom.
17:39.6
So it's that righteous anger. That sense of righteous anger. That there's so much injustice there.
17:44.2
Kung iisipin ko pa yung sarili ko, iba ka-delikado. Sino natin tutulong sa kanila?
17:49.4
I don't think of myself anymore. Because for me, I would rather think of these people who's been coming to me every day because they trusted me.
18:03.6
Because they know that when they come to me, I can do something about their problems, their solutions. And first of all, I wouldn't be Rafi Tulfo had it not been for them.
18:14.2
So it's just proper that I have to make sure na yung trust and confidence nila sa akin ay mapapalitan ko.
18:22.0
I remember talking to your brother, Erwin Tulfo. He was telling something about also how your parents brought you up, your mom, that sense of helping other people.
18:29.3
I mean, there's also this family values thing, no? Of social service, of giving back to the community since then.
18:35.2
Yeah. My mom, I can remember when I was in the elementary.
18:44.2
Nagkita ko yung mga asawa ng sundalo pupunta sa ma'am ko, mangihingi ng pera, manghiram. Marami kami doon. Pati kami, naghihirap din.
18:56.8
So sinasanla nung ma'am ko yung kanyang mga alahas para lamang maibigay doon sa mga asawa ng sundalo na humingi ng tulong. Bibigyan ng bigas, kakainin lang namin. Binibigay pa doon sa mga asawa ng sundalo na marami mga anak.
19:10.7
So I grew up with that kind of environment.
19:14.2
Yun yung ecosystem ng values. So naturally, you and your brothers have been carrying this forward.
19:19.8
Last point, of course, view from Manila. Usually, yung mga kasama namin dito, ambassadors, diplomats, etc. West Philippine Sea.
19:27.0
Pag-usapan natin yung West Philippine Sea, itong last part, siguro para sa akin, ito yung pinaka-exciting in a certain sense because, of course, I mean, hindi pa ako ganun katanda.
19:36.0
But in the whole time na around ako, parang napansin ko, ito yung time na nakikita natin lumalabas yung Filipino nationalism.
19:44.2
Dignity natin. Dapat lumaban tayo. Something like that. What is your take on this? I mean, for me, this is like a rebirth of the Filipino nation.
19:51.1
Kasi kahit sino kausap mo ngayon, may masabi na sa West Philippine Sea. It's almost a gut issue.
19:55.4
When 10 years ago, no one knew anything or two about the West Philippine Sea issue. What is your stance on this?
20:01.2
Di ba naka-high blood? Pero ako rin, high blood na high blood na. But I don't want to go to war with China. Kasi sino ba naman tayo? Of course, as much as possible, dapat iiran yung diplomacy.
20:14.2
You know, BBM did the right thing when he went to Hawaii and talked to the Americans. In the Pacific Command. Na para mag-escort din yung mga Philippine Coast Guard natin na magdala ng supply doon sa mga tropa natin sa Union Shoal.
20:37.0
Medyo nag-back off yung China. See, I've been saying this all along. Dapat tulad ng ibang bansa.
20:44.2
Nag-escort sa mga barko natin.
