‘Genuine’ Filipinos won’t cower before China, says Malacañang

MANILA, Philippines — “Genuine” Filipinos will never be silenced by the Chinese government and their supporters in defending the country’s maritime rights, particularly in the West Philippine Sea, Malacañang said on Wednesday.

Palace Press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro stressed that the government will not be cowered by the sanctions China imposed on former Senator Francis Tolentino for his actions and pronouncements concerning Philippine sovereignty.

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

“Whatever the reason of China for banning Senator Tolentino, that’s their own decision,” Castro said on Wednesday, a day after the Chinese foreign ministry announced that Tolentino would be banned from Chinese territories, including Hong Kong and Macau, as part of its sanctions against “a handful of anti-China politicians in the Philippines.”

“But every Filipino, genuine Filipinos and Filipinos who are pro-Philippines, will not be silenced. China can never prohibit us from defending our country and our maritime rights,’’ Castro added in a Palace briefing.

According to her, neither President Marcos nor the Department of Foreign Affairs has mentioned any steps following the sanctions on Tolentino.

Marcos inducted Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro into office only on July 1, a month ahead of the schedule announced last month.

‘Badge of honor’

Lazaro is only the second woman to be named foreign secretary after Delia Albert from 2003 to 2004. She led the negotiations for a landmark agreement with China on the delivery of supplies to Filipino forces at Ayungin Shoal in 2024.

Tolentino, however, said he would wear China’s entry ban against him as a “badge of honor” because it shows his work defending the rights, dignity and sovereignty of the Filipino people in the West Philippine Sea.

“I have fought—and will continue to fight—for what rightfully belongs to our nation. I stand firmly with the Philippine Navy, the Philippine Coast Guard and our brave fishermen who depend on these waters for their livelihood,” he said.

“No foreign power can silence me or weaken my resolve to uphold our sovereignty,” he added.

Tolentino, who lost his reelection bid last month, served as Senate majority floor leader and chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee during the 18th and 19th Congress.

He was also chair of the Senate special committee on maritime and admiralty zones, which was behind the Philippine Maritime Zones Act (Republic Act No. 12064) and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act (RA 12065), enacted in November 2024. /cb

(2025/07/03-05:34)