Aurora Gov. Reynante Tolentino dies at 74
Aurora Governor Reynante Amansec Tolentino passed away at 74 on Monday, September 22, 2025. (Photo from the Facebook post of Aurora Board Member Yam Tolentino)
MABALACAT CITY — Two-term Aurora Gov. Reynante Tolentino died on Monday morning, September 22. He was 74.
In a Facebook post, Aurora 2nd District Provincial Board Member Yam Tolentino announced the passing of his father.
“We are announcing the sad news of the passing of our father, Gov. Reynante A. Tolentino, today, September 22, 2025, at 7:33 a.m. We ask for prayers and for us to remember the happy times that we spent with our father,” he said.
The board member expressed his gratitude for the support and prayers of the Aurora folk.
“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all who sent prayers in this time of grief. The unwavering service that Gov. Reynante Tolentino had extended will remain in our hearts and minds,” he said.
The governor’s cause of death was not immediately known.
On August 13 this year, the provincial government of Aurora announced on its official Facebook page that Gov.Tolentino had filed a leave “to tend to his health and recover from sickness.”
Following Tolentino’s leave, Vice Gov. Isidro Galban immediately served as the acting governor of the coastal province. The provincial government has asked residents to extend their full support to Galban while it sought prayers for the speedy recovery of Tolentino.
Reynante Tolentino was Aurora’s senior board member before he became a governor on April 22, 2024, after the Ombudsman ordered the dismissal from public office of elected Gov. Christian Noveras and his father, Vice Governor Gerardo Noveras, for grave misconduct.
READ: Vice gov assumes top post in Aurora
On September 26, 2024, the Court of Appeals ordered the reinstatement of Gov. Noveras, saying that the Ombudsman had erred in finding that 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 Interior and Local Government did not implement the appellate court’s order despite the League of Provinces of the Philippines’ appeal for the implementation of the CA’s decision.
In the May 2025 elections, Christian Noveras ran for governor under the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas against Reynante Tolentino of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino. Tolentino prevailed in the electoral contest, garnering 67,590 votes while Noveras got 53,570 votes.
In a Facebook post on Monday morning, Noveras extended his sympathy to the Tolentinos.
“My prayers for the peaceful passing of Governor Reynante Tolentino. May his soul find peace in God’s eternal embrace,” he said./coa
