Aurora Gov. Reynante Tolentino dies at 74
MABALACAT CITY—Aurora Gov. Reynante Tolentino died on Monday. He was 74.
The passing of Tolentino, who was serving his second term but who had been on leave since August due to undisclosed health concern, was announced by his son, Board Member Yam Tolentino in a Facebook post.
The younger Tolentino, who represents the province’s second district in the provincial board, said his father died at 7:33 a.m. on Monday but did not disclose the cause of his demise and where it happened.
The governor had been on leave since Aug. 13 “to tend to his health and recover from sickness,” according to an announcement on the province’s Facebook page on the same date.
Vice Gov. Isidro Galban immediately served as the acting governor of the coastal province.
The announcement did not as well disclose the governor’s health issue but only urged residents to avoid baseless information involving his well-being.
Gratitude
Yam Tolentino expressed his gratitude for the support and prayers of Aurora folk in their time of grief, saying his father’s legacy of good governance will always be remembered.
Reynante Tolentino was Aurora’s senior board member when he became the governor on April 22, 2024, after the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the dismissal of Gov. Christian Noveras and his father, Vice Gov. Gerardo Noveras, for grave misconduct.
The case was filed on April 27, 2022, by Narciso Amansec, a former board member from Aurora’s second district, who alleged that he saw Tecuico printing campaign tarpaulins for the Noveras family inside a government-owned building at the Aurora Training Center in Baler on March 30, 2022.
On Sept. 26, 2024, the Court of Appeals ordered the reinstatement of Christian Noveras as governor, saying the Ombudsman erred in finding there was substantial evidence to hold the younger Noveras liable for the administrative charges of grave misconduct, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service and conduct unbecoming of a public official.
But the Department of the Interior and Local Government did not implement the Court of Appeals’ order despite the League of Provinces of the Philippines’ appeal for the implementation of the decision.
Christian Noveras ran for the same post in last May’s election’s under the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas against Reynante Tolentino of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino. Tolentino won with 67,590 votes over Noveras’ 53,570 votes.
In a Facebook post on Monday morning, Noveras extended his sympathy to the Tolentinos, saying, “My prayers to the peaceful passing of Gov. Reynante Tolentino. May his soul find peace in God’s eternal embrace.”
Galban, on Facebook, said Aurora province mourned the passing of a beloved governor whose flagship program, the “Serbisyong Bukas-Palad,” has been a helping hand to many residents in need.
