Upon his appointment by President Marcos, Tatad became the youngest member of Marcos' cabinet. During his term, he announced the declaration of martial law on September 23, 1972, just hours before Marcos himself came on the air.[1] While serving as cabinet secretary, he concurrently became a member of the Batasang Pambansa.
During his service in the Philippines Senate, he served as Majority Floor Leader from 1996 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2001. In 2001, he was one of the 11 senators who voted against opening an envelope that had been alleged to contain incriminating evidence against then Philippine President Joseph Estrada, inciting events that led to the EDSA Revolution of 2001.[2]
During the hearing on the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona on January 19, 2012, Tatad had a verbal confrontation with Senator-Judge Franklin Drilon, accusing him of acting like a part of the prosecution team. Drilon allegedly challenged him to disqualify him from participating in the proceedings.[4]
References
^"Declaration of Martial Law". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Office of the President of the Philippines. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
‡ — Under the transitory provisions of the Philippine constitution, 24 senators were elected in this election. The first 12 senators who garnered the highest votes would have a 6 six year term while the next 12 senators would have a 3 year term.