Senators pay tribute to Ka ‘Turing’

Senators crossed party lines yesterday in paying tribute to the late former senator Arturo Tolentino, whom they described as a "great man who cannot be bought and put character above wealth."

At Malacañang, Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo issued a statement expressing his personal grief for Tolentino, an old friend.

"I was the majority leader during the term of the late Senator Tolentino and I recall always seeking his advice on parliamentary rules and procedures because he was considered the sage of the Senate," Romulo said.

Romulo said Tolentino "has now achieved immortality."

"Our people shall remember him with reverence and affection. After all, his record as a legislator and constitutionalist is perfection personified."

Romulo said Tolentino’s legacy of intellectual standards will remain a challenge for the present lawmakers to live up to.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said Tolentino touched the lives of many Filipinos with his almost 70 years of public service.

In his eulogy, Drilon said he first met Tolentino during his freshman term at the College of Law at the University of the Philippines.

"He (Tolentino) was strong in every aspect of civil law, but he was particularly strong in the field of persons and family relations (on Civil Law) specifically the chapter on marriages. It was my introduction to a man who some say could have been president," he said.

Drilon said that as a public servant, Tolentino gave distinction to every public office he had served. As a legislator, Drilon said the late senator stood "head and shoulders above everyone else."

"No one could stand before Ka Turing especially in a debate because (with) legislators like him, the Senate gained the trust, respect and confidence of the Filipino people," Drilon said.

He said Tolentino’s journey to politics and public life was a testament to his love of country and putting the greater interest above his own.

Drilon said Tolentino made himself a great statesman when he abandoned his claim for the presidency during the July 1986 takeover of the historic Manila Hotel.

Tolentino tried to usurp power when he declared himself "acting president," claiming he had received a letter from strongman Ferdinand Marcos authorizing him "to be the legitimate head of the country until such time that I return to the Philippines."

With about 3,000 loyalists and 1,000 soldiers, Tolentino took over the plush Manila Hotel and declared it his seat of government.

"We saw this when he abandoned his claim to the presidency in 1987 and recognized (President) Corazon Aquino and (Vice President) Salvador Laurel as the country’s new set of leaders. This was the kind of man Ka Turing was. A man subservient to no one except to the rule of law and to our democratic institutions," Drilon said.