Tolentino inaugurates Batanes naval detachment

MAVULIS ISLAND, Batanes, Philippines — Sen. Francis Tolentino led yesterday the inauguration of a naval detachment in this island, the northernmost in Batanes near the Taiwan Strait.

The Forward Operating Base is one of the priority sites of the Philippine Navy’s Strategic Basing Plan 2040, which will be institutionalized if Senate Bill No. 654, which Tolentino filed is passed into law.

During the inauguration, Tolentino highlighted the important role of the Philippine Navy in defending the country.

“The Philippine Navy has been a formidable bulwark that protected the nation from all sorts of threats,” he said.

“Now that the stakes are higher, I fully understand that you have to be equipped and trained to multiply your force and stand ground against those who attempt to trample upon our independence,” he added.

Tolentino, chairman of the Senate special panel on Maritime and Admiralty Zones, is pushing the approval of  the Maritime Zones and Archipelagic Sea Lanes Law to fortify the country’s legal basis on its territorial dispute.

“We have to remain steadfast and firm for the long- term benefits of enacting laws for the protection of seas, promotion of sea-based economy for the welfare of deprived and underprivileged fisherfolk and other workers dependent on the gifts of the our seas,” he said.