Follow TV Tropes


Web Video / Raffy Tulfo

Go To
Idol Raffy.
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 Radyo 5 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.

Tulfo's main YouTube channel has—as of 2021—over 19.5 million subscribers and 9.2 billion views, making him one of the most viewed and most subscribed channels from the Philippines.

Raffy Tulfo's videos provide examples of:

  • Auto-Tune: Used on the chorus of the theme tune for his public service programme.
  • Brutal Honesty: Unsurprising considering how the Tulfo brothers is infamous for this.
  • Caps Lock: Most if not all of his videos on YouTube have titles WRITTEN LIKE THIS, on top of said titles being of sensationalist nature.
  • 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.
  • Advertisement:
  • Daddy DNA Test: Besides extramarital affairs and child custodies, finding out a baby's real parents has also been a recurring subject.
  • 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" or shanty dwellers as "squatters".
  • 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.
  • Advertisement:
  • Pædo 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • "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.

How well does it match the trope?

Example of:


Media sources: