Tolentino distributes aid in Rizal, urges Rizaleños to honor past, present heroes

Senate Majority Leader Francis 'Tol' Tolentino on Thursday (June 20) led the distribution of financial aid in three localities in Rizal province, while also imploring on Rizaleños to honor the nation's "past and current heroes."

Tolentino was joined by local government officials in handing out cash aid to 2,400 residents belonging to the marginalized sectors in Binangonan, Antipolo, and Taytay, respectively. Wheelchairs were also provided to persons with disability and senior citizens in the three areas.

"Just yesterday, June 19, our nation marked the 163rd birth anniversary of a great Filipino, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, after whom your province was named. You are Rizaleños, in the same way that all Filipinos should be 'Rizaleños.' We must carry on Rizal's ideals, so that his sacrifices would not be in vain," the senator said in his speech.

Filipinos should all the more stand together, he added, amid threats to national sovereignty, particularly in the West Philippine Sea. The senator then urged the audience to support and pray for the nation's "modern-day heroes."

"Bigyan po natin ng dangal ang mga Pilipinong sundalo at ang ating mga mangingisda na nakikipaglaban para sa ating karapatan sa sarili nating karagatan, kabilang ang mga yaman nito, sa Palawan at Zambales. Isama n'yo po sila sa inyong mga dalangin. Sila po ang ating mga makabagong bayani na direktang hinaharap ang malaking hamon sa ating kasarinlan," he emphasized.

("Honor our Filipino soldiers and fishers who are fighting for our rights over our seas, including the resources underneath, in Palawan and Zambales. Please include them in your prayers. They are our modern-day heroes facing head on this looming threat to our sovereignty.")

Tolentino is the principal author and sponsor of Senate Bill No. 2492, or the Philippine Maritime Zones Act.

The measure seeks to declare the country's rights and entitlements over its maritime zones, including its underwater features, for the benefit of Filipinos in line with principles of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the historic 2016 Hague arbitral ruling.

The senator, who also chairs the Senate Special Committee on Maritime and Admiralty Zones, recently wrote Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo to ask the agency to seek the intervention of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to ensure the safety of resupply missions to Filipino soldiers stationed on BRP Sierra Madre.