Tolentino supports DFA’s decision to summon Chinese ambassador

Former senator Francis Tolentino — File photo

MANILA, Philippines — Former senator Francis Tolentino on Tuesday said he fully supports the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) decision to summon the Chinese ambassador to explain the reported sanctions imposed against him by the Chinese government.

Earlier, Beijing said it was imposing sanctions on Tolentino over his “egregious conduct” on issues concerning Beijing, a state action taken for the first time against a critic in Manila.

The former senator, in a statement, said that this action of China is “not only an affront to Philippine sovereignty, but also to the dignity of every Filipino who stands for our national interest.”

READ: China bars ex-senator Tolentino from entering its territories over WPS stance

He stressed that if raising concerns about Chinese maritime aggression and reported acts of espionage against Philippine institutions result in foreign retaliation, it only highlights the need for “greater vigilance and unity in defending our democratic values and territorial integrity.”

“No foreign power can intimidate or diminish the dignity of a free and sovereign Filipino nation,” the former senator said.

Tolentino earlier served as Senate majority floor leader and chair of a special committee on maritime and admiralty zones. He authored two bills that marked out Philippine claims in the South China Sea — the Philippine Maritime Zones Act (Republic Act No. 12064) and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act (RA 12065).

The bills, later signed into law in November last year, reaffirmed the extent of the country’s maritime territories in the South China Sea and its right to tap resources in these areas.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier described them as “significant laws that emphasize the importance of our maritime and archipelagic identity.” /das