Erwin Tulfo eyed as nominee after ACT-CIS solon quits —House sources

One of the three representatives of the ACT-CIS party-list to the House of Representatives has resigned, House Majority Leader Mannix Dalipe announced at Wednesday’s plenary session.

Dalipe said he made a motion to accept Jeffrey Soriano’s resignation and drop him from the roll of House members after the latter informed Speaker Martin Romualdez of his decision. Dalipe's motion was carried without opposition.

As this developed, at least two staff members of lawmakers occupying high-ranking House leadership posts told GMA News Online that Soriano’s seat could be taken over by former Social Welfare and Development secretary Erwin Tulfo.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. picked the broadcaster to lead the DSWD shortly after the May 2022 election.

However, Tulfo’s nomination failed to get the approval of the Commission on Appointments (CA). At a CA hearing last November, the question of whether Tulfo had renounced his Filipino citizenship when he joined the US Army in 1988 arose. The panel bypassed his nomination a month later.

ACT-CIS, which stands for Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support, holds three seats in the 19th Congress after topping the 2022 party-list race with over two million votes.

The other two ACT-CIS party-list lawmakers are Tulfo’s sister-in-law, Jocelyn, and Edvic Yap.

GMA News Online has reached out to Tulfo and to ACT-CIS party-list for comment. — BM, GMA Integrated News