Its expression of sympathy was made through the passage of House Resolution No. 97 authored by Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. and unanimously affirmed by all congressmen during a public session held Wednesday afternoon.
Before he became a senator in 1957, "Ka Turing," as colleagues and friends fondly called him, served as a congressman for nine years.
Meaningful parts of HR No. 97 are as follows:
"Whereas, the Honorable Arturo M. Tolentino had demonstrated, through his life and career, as a parliamentarian, legal luminary, scholar, diplomat, law professor, renowned author, and law practitioner, a wholehearted and unselfish devotion to the service of his country in such manner and degree which added great prestige to the Republic of the Philippines.
"Whereas, the country has just lost in Honorable Tolentino an outstanding and brilliant statesman, a patriot who stood out for his brilliance and diligence in law-making for his vigilant and active fiscalization in and out of the legislative hall, and for his honesty and integrity beyond reproach.
"Resolved by the House of Representatives, to express, as it hereby expresses, its profound condolence and deep sense of sympathy on the demise of the Hon. Arturo M. Tolentino, former member of Congress of the Republic of the Philippines."
Tolentino, who died of heart failure on Monday at 94, had an outstanding record in government service.
He was a member of the Code Commission from 1948 to 1949, a congressman from 1949 to 1957 and senator from 1957 to 1972.
As a member of the legislature, he served in various capacities as Majority Leader, Minority Leader and later as Senate President.
Senate pays last respects
The Senate yesterday paid its final respects to former Senate President Arturo M. Tolentino, his colleagues in the past and current congresses describing him as a "legend in his own time, the last of the titans," and "a man of illustrious reputation."
During the two-hour necrological services at the Senate in Pasay City, Tolentino was eulogized by his colleagues in the Upper House where he was Senate chief from 1970 to 1972 and as a member of the Senate for 17 years from 1958 to 1972 and from 1992 to 1995.
Senate President Franklin Drilon, Senators Richard Gordon, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Manuel Villar Jr. and Edgardo Angara delivered eulogies that started at 10:13 a.m.
"Arturo M. Tolentino, a man of utter conviction, brilliant of thought, unassailable in expertise, illustrious of reputation and whether he accepts it or not, a legend of his own time. Ka Turing was a man subservient to no one except to the rule of law and to our democratic institutions," Drilon said.
Former Senate President Jovito Salonga and former Sen. Eva Estrada Kalaw, both colleagues of Tolentino in the Senate before the 1972 declaration of martial law, also paid tribute to Tolentino.
"He remained constant and true to the very end. He fought for the Constitution and the law, he fought for his country and people, and he fought for the little man. He was the last of the titans," former Senate Majority Leader Francisco Tatad said.
Others in attendance included Senators Ramon Magsaysay Jr., Alfredo Lim, Lito Lapid, Rodolfo Biazon, Jamby Madrigal, Manuel Roxas II and Sergio Osmena III.
Also present were former Senators Heherson Alvarez, Santanina Rasul and Agapito Aquino.
Dr. Emilio T. Yap, chairman of the board of the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation, was one of those who attended the necrological services.
The remains of the late senator were later transferred to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) where he served as Minister during the later part of the Marcos regime.
Tolentino will be buried with full state honors at 9 a.m. at the Libingan ng mga Bayani tomorrow. (Mario B. Casayuran)
DFA necrological service
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday held the traditional necrological service in honor of former Foreign Affairs Minister Arturo Tolentino, with top DFA officials and personnel offering their eulogies and final respects.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Albert, in her eulogy read by DFA Undersecretary Jose Brillantes, lauded the initiatives of Tolentino during his stint as Foreign Minister from 1984-1985.
Serving as Foreign Minister for the late President Ferdinand Marcos, Tolentino created the Board of Overseas Economic Promotion and the Technical Secretariat for International Economic Relations, in cognizance of the intertwined role of the international community with local economic development.
The two offices are now widely considered as among Tolentino’s legacies in the foreign service, the precursors of the Office of the Undersecretary for International Economic Relations.
Albert also noted Tolentino’s initiatives in providing every Filipino citizen a passport.
"As Foreign Secretary, the people-loving Tolentino improved the consular services in the Department of Foreign Affairs, stressing the right of every citizen to obtain a passport as a document of his Filipino identity and citizenship.
"Although Arturo Tolentino was associated with the Marcos Martial Law Administration, it was his integrity and competence as a public official — rather than the stigma of the fallen dictatorship — that people remembered him for after Edsa I," she added.
DFA Undersecretary for Administration Franklin Ebdalin also lauded Tolentino, whom he considered his personal friend and mentor in the foreign service, for his "virility and energy that matched his brilliance" despite old age.
"I was the spokesperson of Senator Tolentino, or Ka Turing as his friends called him, during his stint as Foreign Minister. We had also occasion to work together when we both attended the international conferenses such as the International Conference of the Law of the Sea and the Non-Aligned Movement, among others. Even during that time, Senator Tolentino was already considered to be one of the most brilliant luminaries in the Philippine scene." (David Cagahastian)
