Former senator Francis Tolentino on Tuesday, July 8 expressed his support to the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) decision to summon Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian to explain the sanctions imposed against him. 

“As a private citizen, I fully support the DFA’s decision to summon the Chinese ambassador to explain the reported sanctions imposed against me by the Chinese government,” Tolentino said. 

Tolentino, who considered the sanctions a “badge of honor,” said China’s action is not only an affront to Philippine sovereignty, but also to the dignity of all Filipinos.

“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-especially in upholding our rightful claims in the West Philippine Sea under international law, including the 2016 Arbitral Award and UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas),” he said.

“If raising concerns about Chinese maritime aggression and reported acts of espionage against Philippine institutions results in foreign retaliation, it only highlights the need for greater vigilance and unity in defending our democratic values and territorial integrity,” Tolentino also said.

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

Malacañang said the DFA has summoned Huang last week to express the country’s condemnation of China’s sanctions against the former senator. 

According to Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, the DFA asserted that such actions were not aligned with the values of mutual respect and open communication that form the basis of relations between two sovereign nations.

“In the Philippines’ adherence to the constitutional separation of powers among the three branches of government, it is the mandate of senators and other elected officials to inquire (into) matters of national and public interests,” Castro said.

The Chinese government had imposed sanctions on Tolentino, who headed the Senate’s special panel on maritime and admiralty zones, last July 1 by banning him from entering mainland China, Macao and Hong Kong.

China’s foreign ministry claimed that a “handful of anti-China politicians” in Manila are making malicious remarks and taking provocative actions on issues related to China. 

“China decides to impose sanctions on former Philippines senator Francis Tolentino for his egregious conduct on China-related issues and prohibit him from entering the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao,” said the foreign ministry.

It was Tolentino who principally authored two landmark measures aimed at protecting Philippine interest in the West Philippine Sea and other maritime assets: the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act. 

Both measures support the Philippines historic Arbitral Award in 2016.