Camille Naredo

Senate of the Philippines building in Pasay City.

Senate of the Philippines building in Pasay City. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News.

Article (news)

Senate

Carlos Trazo

ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- A union representing employees of the Philippine Senate is calling on Sen. Erwin Tulfo to apologize for comments that they said were &quot;unfair&quot; to personnel of the chamber.In a statement, Sandigan ng mga Empleyadong Nagkakaisa sa Adhikain ng Demokratikong Organisasyon (S.E.N.A.D.O.) criticized the comments made by Tulfo in a June 4 radio interview, where he described employees of the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) and the Public Relations and Information Bureau (PRIB) as &quot;pulpol,&quot; &quot;bobo,&quot; and &quot;bingi.&quot;Tulfo also suggested that &quot;heads [would be] rolling&quot; and that any Senate personnel could be removed from service for assisting during the hearing led by the Cayetano bloc.The Senate is currently locked in a power struggle after Sen. Win Gatchalian was elected as Senate President Pro Tempore last week, a move that the bloc of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano has deemed illegal.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/4/commotion-breaks-out-among-remulla-padilla-cayetano-1118">READ: Commotion breaks out among Remulla, Padilla, Cayetano</a></div>S.E.N.A.D.O. said Tulfo&#x27;s remarks amount to public ridicule and humiliation. &quot;To accuse them of disloyalty, incompetence, or political bias without due process is unfair, demoralizing, and detrimental to the institution,&quot; the group said.They also stressed that employees acted in good faith despite receiving conflicting memoranda and instructions from rival Senate leaders.&quot;They should not be made scapegoats for situations beyond their control, especially when they acted in the honest performance of their duties,&quot; the group added.S.E.N.A.D.O. called on Tulfo to retract his remarks and issue a public apology to OSAA, PRIB, and all Senate personnel who were maligned. It also urged Senate leadership to ensure that any review of employee actions is conducted fairly and in strict accordance with due process.The group also acknowledged Cayetano&#x27;s recognition of the difficult circumstances faced by employees amid the ongoing leadership dispute. According to their statement, staff members were caught between conflicting directives and competing claims of authority while striving to fulfill their duties in good faith.However, they also expressed alarm over Cayetano’s references to the Revised Penal Code and laws on acts preventing the meeting of the Assembly, as well as his mention of penalties and the authority to dismiss employees.The union said such statements have caused anxiety among staff who were simply performing their functions under unprecedented conditions.

A union representing employees of the Philippine Senate is calling on Sen. Erwin Tulfo to apologize for comments that they said were "unfair" to personnel of the chamber.

A union representing employees of the Philippine Senate is calling on Sen. Erwin Tulfo to apologize for comments that they said were "unfair" to personnel of the chamber.

Union of Senate employees call on Tulfo to apologize for 'unfair' comments

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Union of Senate employees call on Tulfo to apologize for 'unfair' comments

Carlos Trazo,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 08, 2026 12:29 AM PHT

Read More:

Philippine Senate

Erwin Tulfo

union

Sandigan ng mga Empleyadong Nagkakaisa sa Adhikain ng Demokratikong Organisasyon

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