FRANCIS TOLENTINO

Senator Francis “Tol” N. Tolentino is a multi-awarded public servant, lawyer, law professor, and author. He was elected to the Philippine Senate in 2019.  

Currently, he is chairman of the Senate Committees on Justice and Human Rights and on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations, also known as the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.  

Sen. Tolentino is also a member of the Commission on Appointments and representative of Congress in the Judicial and Bar Council.  

As chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee, Sen. Tolentino spearheaded the series of Senate inquiries in aid of legislation over various alleged anomalous contracts entered by certain government agencies. The investigations later paved way for the filing of necessary charges against some delinquent public officials as well as the crafting of proposed new laws to infuse additional safeguards in preventing another cycle of infringement within the government bureaucracy.  

As an advocate of good governance, Sen. Tolentino has filed Senate Bill No. 618, seeking to enhance the current Government Procurement Reform Act by creating a uniform warehousing and inventory system for all government procuring entities. 

THE HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATE 

Being the head of the Senate Justice panel, the senator from Cavite also authored and sponsored a number of proposed legislations, seeking to enhance and further strengthen the current state of the human rights and justice system in the country. These include the proposed stiffer penalties for child and elderly abuses as well as the bills aimed at ensuring the welfare of Filipino seafarers and caregivers.  

As a champion of electoral reforms, Sen. Tolentino succeeded in convincing the Commission on Elections to allow overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to vote in the most convenient way, internet voting, in the 2025 midterm elections.  

A true-blooded patriot, Sen. Tolentino is an active member of the country’s military reserve force—with a rank of Brigadier General—and recently authored the mandatory imposition of the Reserved Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC) for students in the tertiary level. The senator campaigns for the strengthening of existing ROTC units through the ROTC Games in partnership with the Commission on Higher Education. He also advocates for the enhancement of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).  

He founded and launched the Philippine Legal Justice Center (PLJC), a legal aid clinic, which provides free, adequate, and accessible legal assistance to marginalized and indigent litigants, overseas Filipino workers, and indigenous peoples and communities.  

PREVIOUS STINTS AND EDUCATION 

Prior to his election in the Senate, he served as chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority where he, being a disaster preparedness advocate, formulated Metro Manila’s earthquake contingency plan, known as Oplan Metro Yakal.  

He had also served as mayor of Tagaytay City and as Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs.  

He has taught Constitutional Law and legal management subjects at law schools in Manila, Cebu, and Dumaguete.  

Sen. is a law graduate from the Ateneo de Manila University. He also has three Master of Laws degrees from the University of Michigan Law School, the University of London, and from the Ivy League-Columbia Law School in New York.  

He is a member of the Philippine Bar and the New York Bar.