ACT-CIS Party-list Representative and senatorial candidate Erwin Tulfo was in hot water after several documents about his alleged attempt to maintain his US Citizenship by using a fake identity circulated on social media.
The document, which appeared from the US Embassy in Manila, was about notification of passport cancellation to a particular ‘Erick Sylvester Tulfo,’ who was later discovered to be Erwin Tulfo.
“An investigation revealed that Erick Sylvester Tulfo, born on December 30, 1965, in Hawaii is not your true identity. Evidence suggests that you are Erwin Teshiba Tulfo, born on August 10, 1963, in Tacloban City, Leyte, Philippines,” the letter read.
According to the document, Tulfo used Erich Sylvester Tulfo’s identity to gain his US Passport on May 24, 1991 and then renewed his passport using the same name twice, on August 2001 and August 2021.
However, Tulfo failed to renew his passport in 2021 due to the investigation conducted by the US Embassy.
Tulfo’s citizenship was already in question even before he became a lawmaker.
It can be recalled that in 2022, the Commission on Appointments didn’t approve his appointment as the Department of Social Welfare and Development secretary because of his past legal problems and alleged US citizenship.
He also reportedly served in the US Army under Erick Sylvester Tulfo’s identity.
However, his camp insisted that Tulfo never applied for naturalization in the US.