Senator Francis Tolentino yesterday confirmed he would resign as Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chairperson in January.
Tolentino said he will also quit from the Senate panel of the Commission on Appointments, also next year when the session resumes after the holidays.
He said he was willing to keep these posts until his replacement is named.
Tolentino said his resignation will be confirmed in a plenary session.
The Senate will resume sessions on Jan. 22, 2024.
So far, he said his fellow senators have yet to decide who will be his successor for both positions.
In giving up the Blue Ribbon – formally known as the Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations — and CA seats, Tolentino will be left with the chairmanships of the Senate Justice Committee and the Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones.
He admitted that his reelection bid in 2025 is part of the reason he is determined to honor the an agreement with other senators to let go of the Blue Ribbon chairmanship to only head the panel for one and a half years, then leave the position to the plenary.
“It is my intention to honor an agreement. In fulfillment of a sacred commitment to serve as Blue Ribbon committee chairman and member of the Commission on Appointments for a concise term of one and a half year, I find it both a duty and an honor to uphold the essence of a prior agreement,” noted Tolentino.
He also wanted “to hit the ground running” for the new Senate leadership as well as the Marcos administration so that “everything will be organized.”
He said his decision was “rooted in a deep-seated belief that public office demands fidelity to pledges made.”
According to Tolentino, he accepted the Blue Ribbon post because he had wanted “to help the Senate administration in fast-tracking the formation of various committees.”
Under his watch, Tolentino said the Blue Ribbon Committee investigated the Department of Education’s laptop deal with the involved personalities now being probed by the Office of the Ombudsman.
Its inquiry into a sugar importation deal led to the resignation of several officials, while separate proceedings spurred the filing of several bills on vaccine procurement, he said.
Tolentino noted he would leave the committee with a pending investigation on irrigation projects.
He expressed confidence that other lawyer-senators are capable of leading the Blue Ribbon committee, noting he can still serve as vice chairman or even a member of the panel.