Erwin Tulfo’s Emotional Confession About Faith Survival & the Nazareno
ERWIN TULFO – Senator Erwin Tulfo stunned listeners after revealing that he believes his life has been spared not once, but twelve times.
Coinciding with the Feast of the Black Nazarene, Senator Erwin Tulfo revealed what he described as a series of divine interventions that saved him from danger multiple times throughout his life. According to the senator, these experiences were not isolated incidents but a total of twelve moments when he narrowly escaped death.
During the Kapihan sa Senado on Thursday, January 8, Tulfo emotionally shared how he believes God repeatedly spared his life. “Believe it or not, this is already my 12th life,” the senator said as he recalled the ordeals that left a deep mark on his faith.
One of his earliest near-death experiences happened when he was only ten years old. He was bitten by a stray dog but chose not to inform his mother out of fear of being scolded. Instead, he attempted to treat the wound himself. “Nakagat po ako ng aso na askal. Hindi ko sinabi sa nanay ko dahil nanay ko disciplinarian, wala raw kaming panggamot. Ginawa ko lang, pinadugo ko nang pinadugo, nilagyan ko ng iodine ‘yung sugat. Two days after namatay ‘yung dog,” he recounted.
Days later, his conscience prompted him to raise the issue with his mother, though indirectly. “Sabi ko sa nanay ko, ‘Mom, ano kayang mangyayari sa kaklase ko na nakagat ng aso, namatay ‘yung aso?’ [Sabi niya], ‘Ay naku Diyos ko! Sino ba magulang niyan kausapin ko’,” he said. When he finally admitted the truth, his mother immediately brought him to the hospital. “Sabi ko, ako. Nasugatan ka na, nakagat ka na, napingot ka pa. Dinala ako sa ospital, sabi ng doktor, ‘Too late na po ‘yan… bigyan na lang natin siya ng gamot na for one year,’” Tulfo added.
Another life-threatening moment occurred in Palawan when he was alone underwater and suffered severe leg cramps. He said he would not have survived if a passing prisoner had not heard his cries for help.
“Marami. May mga instances na-pneumonia pa ako. Nag-pass out ako for two days,” the senator shared, emphasizing that these experiences strengthened his belief that his life has a greater purpose.
Tulfo has been a devotee of the Black Nazarene for 18 years, a vow he made after his child was diagnosed with Hirschsprung disease. “Somebody told me to go to the Nazareno because there are miracles there. So I went, and I said, ‘If you heal my child, I will become a devotee,’” he recalled. A day before the scheduled surgery, doctors determined that the operation was no longer necessary. “And then there’s a lot of answered prayers,” he said.
Today, Tulfo continues to thank God “for where I am right now and what He has made of me.”
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