Tolentino resigns as chair of Senate blue ribbon committee

Sen. Francis Tolentino (File photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

MANILA, Philippnes — Sen. Francis Tolentino on Tuesday confirmed that he had decided to give up his post as chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee to honor a deal he supposedly made with his colleagues.

In a media briefing, Tolentino said he agreed with the Senate leadership that he would only lead the powerful Senate panel tasked with investigating corruption allegations in the government for one and a half years.

He said he would also quit as a member of the majority bloc in the congressional Commission on Appointments (CA) since he made the same arrangement with his fellow senators.

“I find it both a duty and an honor to uphold the essence of a prior agreement,” Tolentino said in a media briefing.

“This decision is rooted in a deep-seated belief that public office demands fidelity to pledges made … It is my intention to honor that agreement,” he said.

But the senator admitted that his decision was also connected with his intention to seek reelection in the 2025 midterm polls.

As earlier mentioned by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Tolentino said he would have to formally declare his intention to step down as CA member and as head of the Senate’s antigraft body during the plenary session. The chamber is currently on a holiday break and will resume its regular session on Jan. 22 next year.

“I will be ready to help during the transition. I will endeavor to [have] a seamless transition and assist whoever will be the replacement for both seats,” Tolentino said.

To help Zubiri, Marcos

According to him, he had agreed to head the blue ribbon panel and join the CA as he wanted to help Zubiri’s leadership and the Marcos administration buckle down to work immediately after the 2022 national elections.

The senator said he had not spoken to any of his colleagues about his decision since he just arrived from the United States on Monday.

Talks were rife, however, that Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, a lawyer, might replace Tolentino as blue ribbon chair.

Cayetano headed the committee when he was first elected to the Senate in 2007. The then-rookie senator investigated the allegedly irregular $329-million national broadband network contract with China’s ZTE Corp.

The controversy eventually led to the filing of corruption charges against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2011.