Raffy Tulfo

Rafael "Raffy" Teshiba Tulfo (born 12 March 1960) is a Filipino journalist, television and internet personality who is best known for his weekday radio programme Wanted sa Radyo on Radyo5 92.3 News FM as well as the Raffy Tulfo in Action YouTube channel, which focuses on issues involving the poor and marginalised from domestic affairs to (deserving) indigents who are in dire need of assistance. Besides his work on Wanted sa Radyo, he has also appeared on a number of investigative and public service shows like Philippines' Most Wanted, Task Force Siyasat and Problema Mo, Sagot Ko.

To those unfamiliar with Tulfo and his programmes, his shows could basically be described as Judge Judy and The Jerry Springer Show rolled into one, especially in terms of the countless (rather sensationalised) domestic dispute cases being aired on the channel.

Tulfo's main YouTube channel has over 18.2 million subscribers and 7.4 billion views as of 2024, making him one of the most viewed and most subscribed channels from the Philippines.

Raffy Tulfo provides examples of the following tropes:

Auto-Tune: Used on the chorus of the theme tune for his public service programme.
Back-Alley Doctor: A lady named Irish had her breasts augmented by a shady "plastic surgeon" who injected foreign substances into the poor woman's chest. It didn't take long for her to tearfully regret it and seek Tulfo's help with her ordeal.
Brutal Honesty: Unsurprising considering how the Tulfo brothers are infamous for this.
Cheating with the Milkman: Countless episodes both on Idol in Action and his YouTube channel revolve around errant women cheating on their husbands with a service provider or some other house guest. One such case involved a woman named after a certain famous person who was caught by his husband having an illicit relationship with a worker. The woman and her husband eventually reached a settlement where they would part ways, albeit with the husband taking responsibility for their children's expenses.
Cluster F-Bomb: Happens from time to time either on the respondents' part, the so-called "keyboard warriors" aka his fans on social media who would leave comments on his videos regarding the subject, or Tulfo himself. Though unlike his brothers he appears to be a tad less of a potty mouth especially given that he runs a YouTube channel.
Daddy DNA Test: Besides extramarital affairs and child custodies, finding out a baby's real parents has also been a recurring subject.
Dude, Not Funny: A female complainant ratted out her husband over what the latter did to their children, i.e. put them on a noose both as a form of blackmail and to discipline the kids. Needless to say, it amounted to child abuse no matter how the husband tried to dismiss it as a mere joke.
Everyone Has Standards: He won't hesitate to cuss like his brothers, but he draws the line in using terms he deems denigrating like referring to special needs people as "abnormal" or "Mongoloid" (An archaic term for people with Down Syndrome, now deemed as both ableist as well as racist towards Mongolian people) or shanty dwellers as "squatters",(Philippine press and media prefer to use the euphemism "informal settlers" as a more polite way to refer to illegitimate residents of a parcel of land, as the word "squatter" earned a rather negative connotation among the poor) as he would would occasionally chastise his guests for saying such pejoratives.
Foil: To his brothers' more hard-boiled personalities.
Follow The Leader: Philippines Most Wanted is, by Tulfo's own admission, closely patterned after the police procedural programme America's Most Wanted.
Hoist by His Own Petard: There has been a number of occasions where the complainant actually turns out to be the one at fault, and it does lend itself well to public humiliation.
Instant Humiliation - Just Add YouTube: More often than not, those being complained by the respondent tends to get a metric ton of this especially from the audience, of whom whose comments would occasionally be read by Tulfo's staff at times.
Insult Backfire: At least one episode has the accused person state that she scoffed off any and all criticism from netizens as said insults made her stronger as a person.
Paedo Hunt: Quite a few episodes has him deal with child abusers, including a squick-worthy video of a three-year old being abused by a man, and someone who admitted to an illicit affair with a teenager, which Raffy bluntly accused of being a paedophile on the phone.
Person as Verb: His name has since become synonymous with direct, "action-based" public service intervention to the point that it has become something of a verb e.g. "ipapa-Tulfo kita", translating to "I'll file a complaint about you to Tulfo!"
Piss-Take Rap: In fairness he did it all in good fun, but one of the theme songs for his programme where he recorded a number of rap verses shows that he is a journalist, not a rapper.
Point and Laugh Show: Raffy's public service programmes have been described by critics as a Jerry Springer analogue where subjects of complaints, especially those from indigent backgrounds, wind up being the butt of humiliation and shame from the audience who sympathise with the complainant. Naturally, those on the receiving end of said complaints may have to consider going under a low profile on social media as this may attract unwanted attention from the same angry mob who booed and hissed at them during the programme.
Political Correctness Gone Mad: Oddly enough, even terms such as "hitman" or "molest" were bleeped out despite the word being innocuous in itself unless used in a threatening context, likely as they're playing it too safe with YouTube's arguably draconian community guidelines.
Product Placement: His programmes would occasionally be interspersed with ads for various health supplements and other brands which he and/or his brothers have endorsed.
Shamed by a Mob: By Raffy's legions of fans that is, otherwise known as the "keyboard warriors".
Special Guest: Given his popularity, it isn't surprising to see Tulfo collaborate and at times join in on pranks and other light-hearted stunts with numerous Filipino celebrities, including but not limited to Alex Gonzaga and Ivana Alawi.
Start My Own: Tulfo came up with his own online store to compete with the likes of Lazada and Shopee, two of the most popular e-commerce sites in the Philippines in similar vein to Amazon in the States.
The Reason You Suck Speech: Raffy and/or the complainant would give this to the subject of the complaint, confronting the perp over his/her shortcomings and/or whichever cruel deeds he/she did.
This Is Unforgivable!: Raffy would definitely not hesitate to decline aid to someone if they were found to have done something he cannot stomach, and would bash the living daylights out of someone who was found to have committed something as heinous or abhorrent like rape, child abuse or animal cruelty.
We Help the Helpless: It's pretty much his bread and butter, and it shows from the massive fanbase he gained who would sing praises over his charity and public service work. Considering how his brand of "action-based public service" has resulted in swift aid being carried out compared to formally taking matters to court which could drag on for ages (though Tulfo himself notes that he is not a substitute for a trial court and has referred to it at times) and use sophisticated legalese the typical Filipino "masa" could not comprehend, the common folk have turned to him for advice and/or aid on personal as well as professional matters.

Selected filmography:

Aksyon Sa Tanghali
Idol in Action
Isumbong Mo Kay Tulfo
Isumbong Mo: Tulfo Brothers
Philippines Most Wanted