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Arturo Tolentino
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style="font-size: larger;" |Other Positions in Government| | | | | | | | | |
Arturo Modesto Tolentino was a prominent political figure in the Philippines who briefly held the position of vice president in 1986. He is more well known as the father of the Philippine “archipelagic doctrine” and expert on the Law of the Sea.
Tolentino was also a former congressman and senator 1957 - 1972). He held the Senate Presidency from. He was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs during the Marcos administration, served in the Batasang Pambansa. He was elected and again served in the Philippine Senate.
As a student, Tolentino was noted for his excellent scholarship. He was valedictorian of the Manila East High School (now V. Mapa High School)(1928); valedictorian (cum laude) University of the Philippines College of Law; a bar topnotcher (1934). He obtained the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy (cum laude) with a gold medal award from the UP in 1938, and received the degrees of Master of Law (meritissimus) and Doctor of Civil Law (meritissimus) from the University of Santo Tomás.
As a debater and orator, he won seven gold medals (including the Quezon Medal) and two silver loving cups. He held the title of “Inter-Collegiate Oratorical Champion of the Philippines” in 1934. He successfully debated with American students from the University of Oregon in 1933 and from the University of Washington in 1934. In U.P., he was also editor-in-chief of the Philippine Collegian and a member of the Upsilon Sigma Phi.
Tolentino engaged in the practice of law after passing the bar in 1934, and was a recognized legal luminary.
He was a law professor in the University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomás, University of the East, University of Manila, Arellano University, FEU, Manila Law College, Philippine Law School, San Beda College and Quezon College.
He was chosen by Ferdinand Marcos as his vice-presidential running mate for the February 7, 1986 snap elections. They were against the united opposition of Corazon Aquino and Salvador Laurel. According to the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) final tally, Aquino and Laurel were consistently in the lead. The final tally showed Laurel winning by over 800,000 votes--roughly the same margin by which it showed Aquino defeating Marcos. However, according to the COMELEC tally, Tolentino won over Laurel with a margin of around one million votes. This allegedly fraudulent outcome would eventually lead to the People Power Revolution which ousted Marcos and installed Aquino as president.
Tolentino then would launch a coup on July 6, 1986 declaring that since Marcos was in exile, he was constitutionally the acting President of the Philippines. Marcos allies and about 100 soldiers marched to the luxurious Manila Hotel, barricading it with trucks, and installing a rebel seat of government there. He was expecting massive support, but only several thousands of Marcos loyalists supported the attempted power grab. On July 8, he agreed to disperse his thousands of civilian supporters and about a hundred military backers, ending the failed coup attempt.
When the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines was overwhelmingly approved in a plebiscite, Tolentino announced he would respect the will of the people. In 1992, he successfully ran for the Senate. However, his bid for reelection in 1995 was not successful and he retired from politics.
Respected by many Filipinos not only for his extemporaneous amendments to major measures and enlightened brand of politics, Tolentino was also known as a scholar, writer, diplomat, and distinguished author of law books.
He died of a heart attack on the night of August 2, 2004 at the age of 93. His remains lie in state at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
He had seven children, as acknowledged in his last will and testament (1971): Arturo Jr., Evelyn, and Annabella with Consuelo David; Bernadette, Salvador, and Victorio with Constancia Conde; and Ma. Elenita with Rosita Robles.
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