PAGE 1

Ipa-Tulfo kita: A Phenomenological study of Raffy Tulfo in Action program on the

perspective of students on the resolution of contemporary problems

A Research Topic Outline

Presented to the Faculty of

HUMSS of

Far Eastern University High School

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for

Practical Research 1

by

Adlao, Roscie Ros

Arana, Louise Danielle

Cuaresma, Jan Czarina

Dimafelix, Micah

Ferrer, Andrea

Guiang, Alexksandra

Luceno, Helen Grace

Paguirigan, Regina Rosarii

Tunay, Juliana Beatrize

December 2019
 PAGE 2

INTRODUCTION

Brief Background of the Study

The judicial institutions in the Philippines are regarded as weak, corrupt and

notoriously slow. (Hays, J.2018). It is said that veteran lawyers can easily get the charges

against their clients off due to the enormous numbers of documents. Some lawyers would

dismiss the case and would start a new one. Thus, some netizens go and ask help from

programs on social media rather than in any government institution due to the lack of trust

to the judicial institution of the Philippines. Because of the deficiency of time and money,

the "Raffy Tulfo in Action" is one of the programs that some netizens seek for help because

the said viral program helps the netizens resolve their issues at a very fast pace without

using money (Padilia, C., 2019). For many Filipino citizens, the program is their last

bastion of hope, and the closest thing to getting real justice in the Philippines. (Lao, G.

2019) The researchers aim to have a deeper understanding of how the opinions and

perspectives of the viewers, especially the students, change due to the issues that are

happening around them. Because of that, the researchers wanted to a study of how the

segment “Raffy Tulfo in Action" affects the insights and judgement of a student in

contemporary problems.
 PAGE 3

REVIEW RELATED LITERATURE

The youths’ beliefs are mostly composed of what they acquire from their environment of

interest.

Foreign Literature

In the article “You Are What You Watch? The Social Effects of TV”, Rothwell

(2019) states that our watching habits change our perceptions and that includes our political

preferences. Many researches had been conducted for proof through the use of the TV show

“Sesame Street” for children and young adults. The conclusion includes the finding that

those who watch the show increases their cognitive and emotional skills. Another

mentioned research was of the Americans who focused on the watchers’ changes in their

political stance. They claim that those who watch Fox News become Republican party

voters and those who watch MSNBC become Democratic party voters. This develops the

idea that most audiences adopt what they watch, educational or not, as long as it also

entertains them.

Local Literature

According to Limos (2019), the youths’ great source of false information are

their parents and elders. Even with the knowledge about detecting fake news the students

are getting, they are still prone to believing what the elders are providing for them due to

authority. It is not just the youth; most Filipino internet users are aware that misleading

news are rampant on social media. 88% have answered that they are wary of this issue

but unfortunately, many of them are still incapable of differentiating what is true or not.
 PAGE 4

The Philippine’s justice system does not satisfy the Filipinos so they depend on

alternatives.

Decades have passed but the justice system in the Philippines still struggle to be

fast and reliable. This adds value to the citizens’ mistrust to the higher officials associated

with justice. (Angara, 2018) Because of this deficiency in reliance, most Filipinos boycott

the firm and continue to criticize it through social media and protests. Senator Sonny

Angara also mentioned how he helped in proposing the consideration of assigning “judges-

at-large”. These judges will be assisting in trials they are assigned to do; to help in the

betterment of the justice’s rate. In August 30, 2019, President Duterte had signed the

Republic Act (RA) No. 11459 or the Judges-at-Large act of 2019. The new law includes

150 judges-at-large to ease the overloaded cases in the field. (Geducos, 2019)

Media affects how society views the justice system in the Philippines. According

to the article of Lao (2019), ‘The Tulfos are the face of Philippine Justice and that should

bother us’, people line up for the program because it seems to act faster than the officials.

In the justice system of the Philippines, only those who have power and influence can attain

justice. But with the help of Tulfo they get the justice that they want. “If you are raised

without knowing what real justice feels like, you might mistake a great many things for

justice. Yes, even instant, mob, radio-show justice. And yes, maybe even violence” (Lao,

2019). The most people on the society doesn’t have background knowledge about the

justice system. So, they tend to get things mistaken that such thing is proper justice.

“Raffy Tulfo in Action” program is by far, the most popular justice-based show

that is airing on radios, televisions, and even on Youtube. Recently, it launched a mobile

app named “Tulfo and Chill” or known as “Tuflix” though it is not officially endorsed by
 PAGE 5

Raffy Tulfo. It proves that the well-known program had not only influence the watchers’

awareness on the country’s justice system, but also became an entertainment for some.

Bonifacio also states that “We cannot blame the public for their interest in the show,

because this is clearly a result of our severely dysfunctional rule of law.” It is due to the

fact that it had been known for its alternative justice system as the airing on platforms

results in public shaming, thus, enabling the justice to be “swift”. (Bonifacio, 2019)

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This research aims to understand the perspectives of students regarding the Raffy

Tulfo in Action program which includes giving resolution to contemporary problems.

The overall general question that is being asked is:

1. What are the perspectives of the students regarding the justice system that

works Raffy Tulfo in action?

With this general question, this research aims to find answers to the following

specific questions:

1. What are their opinions regarding the justice system of Raffy Tulfo in

action?

2. How does the program affect the opinion of their close relatives?
 PAGE 6

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Figure 1. How Raffy Tulfo effects the perspective of students

The Figure 1 represent the flow of process and where the research study was

focused on. Students are the subject wherein we want to know their view when it comes to

the justice system in the Philippines. Raffy Tulfo Program became a way to promote justice

for those people who have problems. According to Lao (2019), it simply means that the

program provides faster action in giving justice to people than those who are in charge

officials. Raffy Tulfo program utilizes social media were mostly used by the people. In

fact, there is an app called “Tuflix” or Tulfo and Chill. It became entertainment for others

and became viral all-over social media. When we talk about social media whether the post

is real or fake; adults and young adults tend to believe especially when it comes to fake

news. Based on the article of Rothwell (2019), research has shown that when a person is

prone to binge-watching; it changes their cognitive and emotional skills.

 PAGE 7

PROPOSED METHODOLOGY

Research Design

In this study, the researchers used a Phenomenological approach as their

methodology to determine the effects of TV programs on the perspective of the students

regarding how they deal with problems nowadays. According to Creswell (2013), the

phenomenological approach examines human experience through the description provided

by the people involved. In general, the methodology is more open ended to encourage the

participants to share information or details regarding about their experience. The

researchers selected this method because it is the most applicable qualitative method for

the study. This will help the researchers acquire data naturally while avoiding prejudice.

Respondents and Sampling Method

Researchers will be selecting ten (10) students from Far Eastern University that are

qualified under the criteria of the following:

• Must have knowledge about the Raffy Tulfo in Action program.

• Is a Senior High School and/or College student.

• Must be 16 years old and above.

Through a Purposive or Selective Sampling method, the researchers will choose their

respondents who will fall under the criteria mentioned above and that can provide detailed

information regarding the study. The attainment of the objectives of the study is dependent

on the response of the selected students. It will be used in the study to help the researchers
 PAGE 8

to find the result on how Raffy Tulfo in Action affects the perspective of students in the

modern resolution of problems.

References

Angara, S. (November 23, 2018). Panay news. Our slow justice system.

Retrieved from https://www.panaynews.net/our-slow-justice-system/

Bonifacio, L.A (December 02,2019). Inquirer.Net. Impaired justice

system leads people to ‘Tulfo justice’. Retrieved from

https://opinion.inquirer.net/125609/impaired-justice-system-leads-people-to-

tulfo-

justice?fbclid=IwAR1uMR6LKLPnj4YqEJ7d75zR7N3SU7FPDVGUllr3t1RPL

MWXIARPrcd5Ic8

Geducos, A.C. (September 25,2018) Manila Bulletin. Duterte signs

Judges-at-Large Act of 2019. Retrieved from

https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/09/25/duterte-signs-judges-at-large-act-of-2019/

Hays, J. (2015) Facts and details. Justice system in the Philippines.

Retrieved from http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-

asia/Philippines/sub5_6f/entry-3913.html

Lao, G. (2019) Explore ABS-CBN. The Tulfos are the face of Philippine
 PAGE 9

Justice, and that should bother us. Retrieved from https://news.abs-

cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/11/10/19/the-tulfos-are-the-face-of-philippine-

justice-and-that-should-bother-us

Limos, M.A (June 21,2019). Esquire. Why our parents and other older people

fall for fake news. Retrieved from https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/why-

our-parents-fall-for-fake-news-a00293-20190621-lfrm

Padilla, C. (November 5,2019). KAMI. Raffy Tulfo: How "Idol Raffy"

became an icon of justice. Retrieved from https://www.msn.com/en-

ph/entertainment/celebrity/raffy-tulfo-how-idol-raffy-became-an-icon-of-

justice/ar-AAJUrq9

Rothwell, J. (July 25, 2019). The New York times. You are what you watch?

The social effects of tv. Retrieved from

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/upshot/social-effects-

television.html?fbclid=IwAR3hiEbwAKcZDfqsteZWbjQae0aph-

AeDCpMitgEJ2DXr1g5chrVrrNqF2k