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Erwin Tulfo to adopt PBBM's 'friend to all, enemy to none' approach once he replaces Imee as panel chair
Philippines
National
Erwin Tulfo to adopt PBBM's 'friend to all, enemy to none' approach once he replaces Imee as panel chair
Erwin Tulfo to adopt PBBM's 'friend to all, enemy to none' approach once he replaces Imee as panel chair
By Dhel Nazario
Published Jan 31, 2026 03:47 pm
Senator Erwin Tulfo said on Saturday, Jan. 31, that he would subscribe to President Marcos' "friend to all, enemy to none" approach, once he takes over the foreign relations panel in the upper chamber.
Senator Erwin Tulfo (Senate PRIB photo)
Tulfo said this in an interview on DWIZ, following the recent confirmation from Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson that Senator Imee Marcos would be replaced as panel chairperson by next week's plenary session.
This came after Tulfo recently criticized the Chinese Embassy in Manila over the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue.
Tulfo's remarks stemmed from a statement by Chinese Embassy Manila Deputy Spokesperson Guo Wei, who asserted that freedom of speech was not a license to smear others, especially the leaders of other countries.
When asked about China, Tulfo said that everything can be discussed.
"Sabi ko eh kung gusto nila makipag-uusap, wala namang problema tayo doon, kausapin lang natin. Pero siyempre may mga hinihingi tayo...Ano pa ang saysay na sasabihin nating 'friends to all, enemies to none' eh, kung yung isang bansa na yan, hindi natin kakausapin (I said that if they want to talk, we have no problem with that, we can simply talk. But of course, we also have demands. What is the point of saying ‘friends to all, enemies to none’ if there is a country we refuse to talk to?)" he said.
In an earlier interview, Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III said that replacing Senator Marcos had nothing to do with her not signing the Senate resolution condemning the Chinese Embassy's remarks.
Fifteen senators signed Senate Resolution (SR) No. 256, which was introduced by Senators Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, Erwin Tulfo, Risa Hontiveros, Raffy Tulfo, Sherwin Gatchalian, Loren Legarda, Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, Camille Villar, Mark Villar, Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, and Manuel “Lito” Lapid.
The resolution specifically affirms the sovereign right and duty of Philippine officials to speak on matters of national interest in the performance of their official functions.
"I can only speak for myself. I cannot speak for the other members if they thought of that when we discussed it last Monday in the majority caucus. I can only speak for myself. Sa akin hindi (For me it's not). It has nothing to do with that," he said.
He even stated that they initially let her have the committee with the thought that she may eventually join the majority bloc.
"Eh nung una hindi naman namin ginalaw yun, originally na kay Sen Imee Marcos yan, hinayaan namin thinking that later on pwede naman kami magkasama-sama (At first, we did not touch it. It was originally with Sen. Imee Marcos, and we let it be, thinking that later on we could still come together). But apparently things didn't work out that way," Sotto said.
"Mayroong mga mga treaties at agreements na nakapending doon na malaki ang concern ng mga members of majority (Treaties and agreements are pending there, and they are of major concern to the members of the majority). So we discussed it, and we decided that we should give it to a member of the majority," he added.