Filipinos want the country’s biggest YouTube star to be their next president

The parents of a young girl in the Philippine province of Cavite who died because the ambulance was not available , an overseas worker who caught her husband cheating on her at home, a group of fishermen who had their wages withheld — these are among the thousands of Filipinos who have taken their cases to Raffy Tulfo. They rely on him, rather than the police or the courts, to settle petty grievances and major criminal offenses alike. Now, they want Tulfo, the country’s biggest social media influencer, to run for President.

Tulfo, 64, anchors the country’s top-rated public affairs program, Wanted sa Radyo (Wanted on Radio). Many of the cases are also streamed on his YouTube channel Raffy Tulfo in Action , which has more than 28 million subscribers — the largest following for an individual in the country. With a career of nearly two decades in radio and television, Tulfo is a popular figure. But it is his massive YouTube following that catapulted him into a political career, helping him win a Senate seat, and putting him in the lead in a survey of potential presidential candidates for the next election.

“Aside from being part of the media for so long, — which already makes him an influential person — his YouTube following definitely played a part in advancing his political career,” Ranny Randolf Libayan, a lawyer, told Rest of World . “There are more than 28 million people who idolize him …. He’s not only powerful, it’s like he’s invincible.”

Called “idol” by his adoring fans, Tulfo has repeatedly said he is not interested in running for President in 2028, claiming that the process “will just give me a headache.” But his fans have not given up, hoping he will change his mind.

“I’d vote for Tulfo in a heartbeat,” Claudine Mayer, an insurance executive who has appeared on his show, told Rest of World . After her niece died in an accident, Tulfo provided monetary assistance for the funeral, she said. “We need someone who helps out people.”

Tulfo, a college dropout, got his start in the broadcast industry as a disc jockey for a local radio station. He got his big break as a news reporter for People’s Television Network (PTV), the state broadcaster, and then became an anchor on the crime show Philippines’ Most Wanted . When he launched Wanted sa Radyo in 2011, his no-holds-barred style — with which he confronted and berated even government officials and the military — quickly won admirers. “ Ipa-Tulfo mo yan ” or “take him to Tulfo” became a catchphrase whenever there was injustice.

Raffy Tulfo in Action , launched in 2016, gained subscribers quickly. The pandemic brought tens of thousands of new followers every day. About 58 million people in the Philippines are on YouTube, and Filipinos largely get their news from the platform. The more than 11,000 vlogs on Tulfo’s channel have been viewed about 16.5 million times. He decided to run for senator, confident that his subscribers would vote for him. Tulfo won as an independent candidate and took office in 2022, vowing to be “a diligent senator, a working senator.” His show continued, gaining more subscribers and earning him millions of dollars. On his Instagram account, Tulfo often interacts with his 1.5 million followers.

The Philippines is no stranger to celebrities entering politics. At least two dozen musicians, actors, and other high-profile Filipinos have become politicians over the years — from provincial mayors to congressmen to senators, and even president. Joseph Estrada, an actor, became vice president, then president, serving until he was impeached in 2001 for corruption. He returned to politics as the mayor of Manila from 2013 to 2019. More recently, former boxer Manny Pacquiao, who was elected congressman and then senator, ran for president in 2022. Actor Isko Moreno was mayor of Manila, and also ran for president in 2022.

What sets Tulfo apart is “the potent combination of celebrity with the strongman rhetoric,” Aries Arugay, a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines, told Rest of World. His show “appeals to a country that is marked by the deficiencies of governance and rule of law,” he said. “Filipinos ordinarily feel so disempowered. What his program represents is something that we don’t really see, especially in a society that has grown so jaded.”

The Philippines ranked 102 out of 139 countries in the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index last year. Among Filipinos, there is a “total lack of confidence in the country’s rotten criminal justice system,” the Asian Human Rights Commission has noted . “Impunity is written large,” with perpetrators assured that “they will get away with whatever they have done.”

58 million The number of people in the Philippines on YouTube.

This is the reason Tulfo’s office receives hundreds of appeals every day, his chief of staff and legal counsel Garreth Tungol told Rest of World . Those who are shortlisted are put through a “rigorous screening process … to make sure that their issue is legitimate,” he said. “Some people come just to seek revenge.”

Tulfo’s shows are often frenetic, with people shouting and weeping as he sits in judgment. After the show, the staff provides participants with a lawyer and draft settlement agreements, and also pays for counseling if needed, Tungol said. “We understand their appearance on the show could have effects on their mental health,” he said.

But Tulfo’s show is not without controversy. People who have appeared on the show have often suffered humiliation and even received death threats. His method of making a spectacle of people’s problems on social media can lead to “the decay of the moral fiber of Filipinos,” Libayan said. “Instead of trying to preserve the sanctity of society or strengthening our communities, Tulfo’s program turns it into a circus by publishing it online, and instigating netizens who would rather presume that someone is guilty until they are proven innocent.”

Tulfo does not pay attention to the criticism, and will keep the show going in its present format, Tungol said. Before he became senator, Tulfo was asked if he would give up his show if he won a seat. At the time, he said the show would remain , and could serve as a sounding board for legislation to solve people’s problems.

But if Tulfo were to run for president and get elected, he would give up his show, according to Tungol. While there are no laws preventing him from hosting his show even from the nation’s highest office, “it’s just not going to be an efficient use of his time,” Tungol said. “There will be so many more problems to attend to.” ▰

Angel Martinez is a writer and researcher based in Manila.