'Di pwedeng puro yawyaw, satsat': Erwin Tulfo studying proper decorum in House
ACT-CIS Party-list nominee Erwin Tulfo (Senate PRIB)
ACT-CIS Party-list nominee Erwin Tulfo is determined to avoid any faux pas--such as saying the wrong things during exchanges on the plenary floor or in committee hearings--once he officially takes his seat as a congressman later this month. That's why Tulfo has been busy reading up on rules in the House of Representatives even when he has been on a hectic travel schedule abroad. "Di naman tayo pwedeng magmayabang, hindi naman pwedeng yawyaw tayo nang yawyaw, satsat nang satsat (We can't be boastful, we can't be just all talk). We have to listen and learn, and at the same time we have to work. Yun lang yun eh (That's how it is)," he told House reporters in an interview. The former Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has been traveling Europe the past few days, based on his social media postings. "May dala ako na mga libro na binigay sakin, yung about rules and regulations of 18th and 19th Congress, yun ang nirereview ko simula noong pagka bumibyahe ako sa tren, sa eroplano," shared Tulfo. (I was given books about the rules and regulations of 18th and 19th Congress, I have them with me and I've been reviewing them whenever I'm on the train or in an airplane.) Tulfo said he is now familiarizing himself with the proper decorum in the 300-member lower chamber. "Binabasa ko mga do's and don't's sa Congress, mga proper address and responses sa mga interpellation, etc. So, pinag-aaralan ko na (I've been reading about the do's and don't's in Congress, about the proper addresses and responses during interpellation. So I've been studying them)." Admitting that "there still a lot of things to learn," the one-time Marcos Cabinet member said he would try to learn the ropes from the grizzled veterans in the House. He mentioned Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman in particular as potential mentors. "Siguro I'll connect myself to mga senior na mga lawmakers...Kailangan nating matuto kasi yan ay mga beterano (Maybe I'll connect myself to the senior lawmakers...We need to learn from them because they're veterans)," Tulfo said.