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Former senator Francis Tolentino is barred from coming into mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau
MANILA, Philippines — The Division of Overseas Affairs (DFA) has summoned Chinese language Ambassador Huang Xilian after Beijing imposed sanctions towards former senator Francis Tolentino, an ally of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Undersecretary Claire Castro, Palace press officer, confirmed the summon on Huang in a press briefing on Tuesday, July 8.
Huang was summoned by the DFA on July 4, or days after Beijing introduced sanctions on Tolentino, who had didn’t safe a recent Senate time period below the administration coalition’s Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas within the 2025 midterm elections.
Citing supposed “egregious conduct on China-related points,” Beijing introduced on July 1 that Tolentino could be barred from coming into the Chinese language mainland, Hong Kong, and Macau. Tolentino’s time period as senator expired on June 30, or the day earlier than China introduced sanctions towards him.
“The DFA conveyed to the Chinese language aspect that, whereas the imposition of such sanctions falls inside China’s authorized prerogative, the imposition of punitive measures towards democratically elected officers for his or her official acts is inconsistent with the norms of mutual respect and dialogue that underpin relations between two equal sovereign states,” mentioned Castro, studying a signed notice from newly-installed Overseas Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro.
The DFA, in summoning Huang, “reminded the Ambassador that as a democracy, the Philippines values freedom of expression.”
“Within the Philippines’ adherence to the constitutional separation of powers among the many three branches of Authorities, it’s the mandate of Senators and different elected officers to inquire on issues of nationwide and public pursuits,” mentioned Castro, nonetheless citing Lazaro.
The Philippine Congress, a separate department of presidency from the manager, is sort of all the time carefully allied with the President. Within the Marcos administration, for example, the ruling coalition has a “tremendous majority” in each chambers.
Within the 2025 midterm marketing campaign Tolentino long-established himself a candidate that was powerful on China. In the course of the marketing campaign interval, Tolentino led a Particular Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones listening to into unmaned drones retrieved from Philippine shores that had been believed to have come from China.
In the middle of that listening to, Tolentino accused the Chinese language embassy within the Philippines of tapping a advertising and marketing agency to propagate a pro-Beijing message.
It was the identical particular committee that led the passage of the Philippine Maritime Zones and Archipelagic Sealanes Acts, twin legal guidelines that codify the 2016 Arbitral Award. – Rappler.com
