Francis Tolentino seeks second term as senator
MANILA, Philippines – Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino formalized his bid for a second term in the Senate by filing his certificate of candidacy (COC) on Tuesday, October 1. He was the first among the seven reelectionist senators from the 19th Congress to submit his candidacy.
“I am for a more dynamic economy and more stable political condition, which I believe help Filipino people achieve their aspirations,” Tolentino told the media after filing his COC at the Manila Hotel.
Tolentino is running under the administration coalition Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas coalition. To date, he is the only reelectionist senator who has yet to get into the so-called winners’ circle in pre-election surveys.
In a recent Pulse Asia Research survey conducted in September, Tolentino ranked between 20th and 30th.
In 2019, Tolentino ran under the Rodrigo Duterte’s then-ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) and placed 9th in the Senate race, with 15,510,026 votes.
Tolentino resigned from PDP-Laban in August following the advise of its party president, Senator Robin Padilla.
In his resignation letter, Tolentino said his decision “comes after a careful consideration and is due to significant differences in our foreign policy directions, particularly regarding the West Philippine Sea.”
Tolentino has been vocal about upholding the 2016 Hague arbitral ruling, which affirmed the Philippines’ victory over China by invalidating Beijing’s claims to waters within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, known as the West Philippine Sea.
Duterte previously said that the 2016 Hague ruling should end up in the trash bin.
Tolentino is the principal author of the landmark maritime zones bill, which aims to define and declare the country’s maritime zones. This bill was included in the Marcos administration’s priority legislation in September 2023, amid heightened tensions in the West Philippine Sea. On July 17, the bicameral conference committee approved the measure, and was up for the President’s signature.
Before becoming the Senate majority leader in May, Tolentino chaired the Senate blue ribbon committee. He relinquished the latter in December 2023 to prepare for his reelection bid.
Under Tolentino’s watch, the committee probed the anomalous deals of the Department of Education in its procurement of “overpriced and outdated” laptops. The panel’s inquiry into sugar importation also led to resignation of some officials. In January, Tolentino filed a bill seeking to abolish the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management, which entered into questionable deals during the pandemic. – Rappler.com