Risa Hontiveros is a Filipino politician who has served as a senator of the Philippines since 2016. She is a proponent of LGBTQ+ rights and has opposed President Duterte's war on drugs. Hontiveros has a background in community organizing and journalism and has advocated for marginalized communities throughout her career. She is currently seen as a leader of the opposition against President Marcos Jr.'s administration.

1. SENATOR OF THE
PHILIPPINES

2. Risa Hontiveros
• Ana Theresia Navarro Hontiveros-
Baraquel (Tagalog pronunciation: [ˈɾisa ɔntɪˈverɔs]; born
February 24, 1966) is a Filipino politician,
community leader, and journalist who has been
serving as a senator of the Philippines since 2016.
She previously served as a party-
list representative for Akbayan from 2004 to 2010.
She is the de facto leader of the opposition to
the administration of President Bongbong Marcos,
following the end of Vice President Leni Robredo's
term.[1]

3. • She is a proponent of the SOGIE Equality Bill and an opposition
figure to President Rodrigo Duterte, particularly on his
controversial war on drugs. She is the older sister of journalists and
television hosts Ginggay and Pia Hontiveros.

4. Early life
• Hontiveros was born on February 24, 1966, in Manila.[2] At age 14, she was part
of Repertory Philippines' adaptation of The Sound of Music as one of the Von
Trapp children along with Lea Salonga, Monique Wilson, and Raymond
Lauchengco.[3] It was also during this period when she was first introduced to
activist pursuit as an organizer in her high school in the campaign against
the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.[4] Hontiveros graduated cum laude with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in social sciences from the Ateneo de Manila University.
While at Ateneo, she was active in the student council, where she participated in
advocacies for peace and justice in marginalized communities.[5]
• She was also a television journalist and news anchor having worked for two
television networks in the country, IBC (Headline Trese) and GMA Network (GMA
Network News).[6]

5. Political career
• House of Representatives
• Hontiveros first entered politics as the third nominee of the Party-
list in the 2004 national elections. She was one of the prominent
opposition figures of the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo administration,
especially during the height of the Hello Garci controversy of
2005.[7] On the International Women's Day of 2006, she was
arrested and brought to Camp Caringal in Quezon City without a
warrant despite the peaceful nature of the assembly marking the
global event.[8]

6. Senate bids
• Running under the ticket of then-senator Benigno Aquino III, Hontiveros lost in
the 2010 national elections.
• Running under the Team PNoy ticket, Hontiveros ran again for a Senate seat in
the 2013 midterm election. However, she lost for the second time, placing 17th in
the Senate race. Her campaign slogan was Paglalaban ka, aalagaan ka, which
reflected the gains from the enactment of the Reproductive Health Law and the
continuing struggle for universal health care and good governance. In the
aftermath, Hontiveros acknowledged Senator Osmena's observation of her mixed
messages in the campaign may have been the reason for her loss.
• In December 2014, Hontiveros was inducted as a trustee of the Philippine Health
Insurance Corporation board.

7. Senate
• Hontiveros ran again for senator and won in the 2016 election under the Koalisyon
ng Daang Matuwid of President Benigno Aquino III. Landing ninth place, she was
proclaimed a senator-elect by the Philippine Commission on Elections, sitting en
banc as the National Board of Canvassers, on May 19, 2016.[
• In November 2016, Hontiveros, along with hundreds of progressive groups, protested
the sudden burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga
Bayani.
• Hontiveros authored Senate Bill No. 1345, or the Philippine Mental Health Bill, which
aims to create a mental health law for the Philippines by integrating mental health
care services and programs into the nation's public health system and ensuring its
availability in all hospitals nationwide. The bill was filed on February 17, 2017, and
passed the Senate on May 2.

8. • A staunch activist against the re-imposition of the death penalty, Hontiveros, along with key
senators, announced in February 2017 that they will block any attempt to legislate such a law
after the lower house of congress passed their version of the bill.[15] On August 16, the shooting
of Kian delos Santos occurred. Hontiveros is a consistent figure against the deadly Philippine
Drug War which has killed at least 20,000 as claimed by Senator Antonio Trillanes.[16] She was
one of the main initiators of a Senate investigation against the police personnel that killed
Delos Santos. She also took legal custody of the witnesses of the case, with proper written
consent from the minor and their parents, after fears of police retaliation against the witness
surfaced.
• Hontiveros was the principal author and sponsor of Republic Act No. 10932, or the "Act
strengthening the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law", which increases the penalties for hospitals that
demand deposits or advance payments before administering basic emergency services.

9. • In September 2017, Hontiveros caught justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II drafting fabricated
charges against her through text messages during a hearing on the deaths of minors caused
by the Philippine Drug War. Aguirre's text messages instructed former Negros Oriental
representative Jacinto Paras, a member of the controversial group VACC, to 'expedite' cases
against Hontiveros, a sitting senator. The same tactic was used by Aguirre against
Senator Leila de Lima, which led to de Lima's arrest a few months past. The revelation was
protested nationwide as instead of focusing on the murder case, President Rodrigo Duterte's
justice secretary was focusing on how to imprison Hontiveros.[19] Despite being caught and the
pieces of evidence presented in halls of the Senate, Aguirre still filed cases against Hontiveros
in October.[19] On September 13, 2017, Hontiveros, along with key senators, vowed to convince
their House counterparts to restore the proposed P678-million budget of the Philippine
Commission on Human Rights, which criticized Duterte's deadly drug war, for 2018. The House
downgraded the commission's budget to only 1,000 pesos. The budget was eventually restored
after major appeals from the public and the Senate.

10. • In December 2017, Hontiveros became one of the recipients of the first-
ever Ripple Awards, which are given to 'brave individuals who have made
a significant impact in spreading HIV-AIDS awareness, stopping the
spread of the virus, and helping to fight the stigma suffered by their
communities.'[21] The production of fake news against Hontiveros has
been continuous, propagating in numerous social media apps. Various
fact-checking national news networks have aided in denouncing the
proliferation of fake news.[22] In May 2018, Hontiveros blasted the
presidential palace for its 'sheepish response' to China's blatant
intrusions and exploitation in the South China Sea and Benham
Rise.[23] On May 11, Hontiveros condemned the ouster of Chief
Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, calling it a ‘stab to Constitution's heart’.[24]