Erwin Tulfo takes oath in House plenary, vows to support Romualdez
From left to right: House Speaker Martin Romualdez, ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, and ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Jocelyn Tulfo (Screenshot from YouTube live)
ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo formally took his oath on Monday afternoon, July 31 in front of Speaker Martin Romualdez and the rest of his House of Representatives colleagues. Tulfo was called up to the rostrum to take his oath during the start of Monday's plenary session. Romualdez led the simple rite. “Maraming salamat sa mainit na pagtanggap, lalo na kay Speaker Martin Romualdez (Thank you very much for your warm welcome, especially to Speaker Martin Romualdez)," the former Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) secretary said in a statement after he was sworn in "I am sending my full support to the current leadership in Congress particularly for their dedication to advancing important legislation. The current leadership in Congress are essential for the progress and well-being of our nation,” Tulfo said. The oath-taking was just a formality, however. Tulfo had already been entered into the House roll last July 24, the day of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s second State of the Nation Address (SONA). He has been attending plenary sessions ever since. Tulfo replaced former Rep. Jeffrey Soriano, the erstwhile third nominee of ACT-CIS Party-list. Soriano vacated his post last Feb. 2023. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) had earlier ruled to allow Tulfo take a seat in the House of Representatives as its 312th active member in the 19th Congress. It can be recalled that ACT-CIS won three House seats after gathering over 2.1 million votes--the highest during the May 2022 elections.