Risa Hontiveros facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Risa Hontiveros
Official portrait, 2022
Senator of the Philippines
Incumbent
Assumed office June 30, 2016
Senate positions Chair of the Philippine Senate Women, Family Relations and Gender Equality Committee Incumbent Assumed office August 05, 2016 Preceded by Pia Cayetano Chair of the Philippine Senate Health and Demography Committee In office July 25, 2016 – February 27, 2017 Preceded by Teofisto Guingona III Succeeded by JV Ejercito Senate Deputy Minority Leader Incumbent Assumed office August 3, 2022 Leader Koko Pimentel
Member of the Philippine House of Representatives for Akbayan
In office June 30, 2004 – June 30, 2010 Serving with Etta Rosales and Mario Joyo Aguja (2004–2007) Walden Bello (2007–2010)
Preceded by	Etta Rosales Mario Joyo Aguja
Personal details
Born	Ana Theresia Navarro Hontiveros (1966-02-24) February 24, 1966 (age 59) Manila, Philippines
Political party	Akbayan (2004–present)
Other political affiliations	Liberal (2010)
Spouse	Francisco Baraquel Jr. ​ ​ (m. 1990; died 2005)​
Children	4
Relatives	Jose Hontiveros (grandfather) Daisy Avellana (aunt) Lamberto V. Avellana (uncle-in-law) Eduardo Hontiveros (uncle) Nita Hontiveros-Lichauco (aunt) Pia Hontiveros (sister) Dondon Hontiveros (cousin) Leah Navarro (cousin) Jose Mari Avellana (cousin)
Alma mater	Ateneo de Manila University (BA)
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Journalist
Signature

Ana Theresia "Risa" Navarro Hontiveros–Baraquel (Tagalog: [ˈɾisa ɔntɪˈverɔs]; born February 24, 1966) is a Filipino politician, community leader, and journalist serving as a Senator since 2016. She previously served as a party-list representative for Akbayan from 2004 to 2010.

In the Senate, Hontiveros sponsored the SOGIE Equality Bill and was an opposition figure to President Rodrigo Duterte. 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.

Since 2024, Hontiveros also co-hosts the radio program Oras at Bayan on Veritas 846.

Early life

Hontiveros was born on February 24, 1966, in Manila. 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. 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. 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.

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).

Political career

House of Representatives

Hontiveros first entered politics as the third nominee of the Akbayan party-list in the 2004 national elections. She was one of the prominent opposition figures during the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo administration.

During International Women's Day in 2006, she was arrested and brought to Camp Caringal in Quezon City without a warrant by civilian-clothed government agents of President Gloria Arroyo. Hontiveros was later released after public outrage and criticisms against the Arroyo administration.

In 2007, Hontiveros urged the Ombudsman to inhibit during the NBN–ZTE deal corruption scandal case. The case exposed an overpriced contract signed by the Arroyo government with China's ZTE Corporation, amounting to at least $130 million in kickbacks. Arroyo's husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, and Commission on Elections chair Benjamin Abalos were also found to have been involved in bribery. Hontiveros, as House deputy minority leader, criticized the government and called for the deal to be cancelled. Because of the revelations, Arroyo later scrapped the deal. On the same year, Hontiveros called on the House leadership to launch an investigation on the alleged distribution of 'cash gifts' given by the Arroyo government to congressmen. The public funds were reportedly used as Arroyo's bargain to block impeachment.

In 2008, Hontiveros exposed that under the Arroyo government's 18 "agribusiness" deals with China in 2007, at least one million hectares of Philippine forest land territories would be leased to China for 50 years, an unprecedented violation of the Constitution and the country's national integrity. Hontiveros also criticized President Arroyo's Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) agreement, wherein 148,886 square kilometers of Philippine maritime territory would be interfered and exploited by China. Due to the revelations, the Chinese "agribusiness" deals were later cancelled while the JMSU was not renewed by the government, and later declared as void and unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

As Akbayan representative in the House, Hontiveros has authored numerous laws, including the Right to Labor Self-Organization Law which expanded the rights of Filipino workers to self-organize, the Cheaper and Quality Medicines Law which drastically lowered the cost of medicines in the country, and the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER) Law which gave thousands of poor Filipino farmers their own agricultural lands, among many others. She also participated in the early pride marches calling for the passage of the anti-discrimination bill (later called the SOGIE Equality Bill). In June 2009, Hontiveros marched with the LGBTQ community to denounce the Commission on Election's decision to not accredit Ladlad, the world's first LGBT partylist.

Hontiveros, along with her progressive allies, also began the first ever national House debates on the Reproductive Health Law (RH Law). Although the proposal did not pass into law due to conservative politicians, the debates ignited a national awareness on the need for such a law.

Senate bids

Hontiveros displays Corazon Aquino's iconic laban (fight) hand symbol after joining the Liberal Party in their campaign in the 2010 elections

Running under the ticket of then-senator (later president) Benigno Aquino III, Hontiveros lost in the 2010 national elections, placing 13th overall, one place short to be elected. In 2012, Hontiveros called for the abolition of the pork barrel system, which was not necessarily corrupt if used appropriately but have been exploited by corrupt politicians. By the end of the year, the Reproductive Health Law (RH Law) passed into law. The law mandated an age-appropriate sex education in the Philippines while providing maximum benefits to those with serious and life-threatening reproductive health conditions. Hontiveros has called on the government to fully implement the law amidst opposition from ultra-conservative factions.

Running under President Aquino's 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 ("Will fight for you, will take care of you") which reflected the gains from enacting the Reproductive Health Law and the continuing struggle for universal health care and good governance. In the aftermath, Hontiveros acknowledged Senator Serge Osmeña's observation that her mixed messages in the campaign may have been the reason for her loss. In June 2014, Hontiveros again marched with the Filipino LGBT+ community in Quezon City to renew the push for the passage of the anti-discrimination bill (later called the SOGIE Equality Bill), which she has backed in numerous occasions in the previous congresses.

In November 2014, Hontiveros was inducted as a trustee of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) board, where she served until October 2015. As a trustee, she pushed for expanded medical benefits and coverage, especially for indigents and senior citizens. Later in 2018, when Hontiveros criticized President Duterte's bloody regime and Chinese foreign policy, various fake news were circulated against Hontiveros about her alleged issues in PhilHealth. The allegations have since been fact-checked as false. Many of the bot accounts spreading the fake news were confirmed as originating from China. Duterte-allied vloggers also proliferated the fake news. Hontiveros was never mentioned in the Commission on Audit ruling mandating perpetrators to return unauthorized bonuses. Additionally, the bonuses in question were released before she was appointed in the PhilHealth board.

On October 14, 2015, Hontiveros formally declared her candidacy for senator in the 2016 national elections after public surveys indicated she had a strong chance of winning. She ran under the administration ticket, Koalisyon ng Daang Matuwid.

Senate

First term (2016–2022)

Hontiveros makes her first privilege speech before the Senate. 2016

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.

A staunch opponent of the re-imposition of the death penalty, Hontiveros, along with some other senators, announced in February 2017 that they would block any attempt to legislate such a law after the House of Representatives passed their version of the bill. Hontiveros also opposed the deadly Philippine drug war.

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.

In December 2017, Hontiveros became one of the recipients of the first-ever Ripple Awards by the non-governmental organization LoveYourself, 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". In 2018, various fact-checking national news networks denounced the proliferation on social media of fake news against Hontiveros. In May 2018, Hontiveros criticized Malacañang for its "sheepish response" to China's intrusions and exploitation in the South China Sea and Benham Rise. On May 11, Hontiveros condemned the ouster of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, calling it a "stab to Constitution's heart".

On September 20, 2018, Hontiveros criticized President Rodrigo Duterte, calling him the "real destabilizer", after Duterte accused numerous progressive universities and Liberal opposition figures of a destabilization plot that sought to oust him from office, despite both the military and the police force eventually clearing all universities and Liberal opposition figures from the alleged ouster plot. On September 24, 2018, Hontiveros exposed the ₱2-billion (estimated $37-million) "tara" (grease payment) system profit of military general Jason Aquino, whom Duterte appointed as the head of the National Food Authority. In October 2018, the Senate approved the proposed Safe Streets and Public Spaces Act of 2017, which Hontiveros principally authored and sponsored. The bill passed the House in January 2019, and was signed into law by President Duterte in July 2019.

In November 2018, Hontiveros received the Equality Champion Award from the Lesbian and Gay Legislative Advocacy (Lagablab) Network for her push for equality laws in the Senate, especially the SOGIE Equality Bill (which stalled in both the 17th and 18th Congresses), and her fight against discrimination of LGBT people in the Philippines. In the same month, Hontiveros reiterated that the influx of illegal Chinese workers in the Philippines is an "assault on sovereignty and economy".

In January 2019, Republic Act 11166, or the HIV and AIDS Policy Act of 2018, passed into law. Hontiveros was the principal author and sponsor of the law in the Senate. The new HIV law aids in expanding access to evidence-based HIV strategies and facilitates easier access to learning about one's HIV status. The passage of the law was lauded by the World Health Organization. In the same month, Hontiveros filed a bill to legalize divorce in the Philippines. The Social Weather Stations reported that a majority of Filipinos support the proposed divorce bill.

Hontiveros opposed lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility, which Duterte initially wanted to be nine years of age. She was awarded the Silver Rose Award by Solidar at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, on January 29, 2019, in recognition of her contributions "to social justice and solidarity". Hontiveros was cited as "a progressive politician who is fighting for ideals and freedom in the Philippines".

On July 19, 2019, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group filed charges against Hontiveros and other members of the opposition for "sedition, cyber libel, libel, estafa, harboring a criminal, and obstruction of justice". On February 10, 2020, she was cleared of all charges.

She urged an investigation of Chinese men's illegal activities in a casino at Clark in Pampanga. Hontiveros also called for an independent investigation on the murder of Anakpawis chairman Randall Echanis. On August 18, 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Hontiveros urged the Department of Health to withdraw the memorandum that suspended the special risk allowance of public health workers. She has backed the passage of the "Magna Carta for Seafarers", as well as the establishment of more medical schools in state universities and colleges.

On August 26, 2020, Hontiveros urged President Duterte to communicate plans to protect the Philippines from China's aggression in the South China Sea amid territorial disputes. She also urged the government to speed up the digital infrastructure support for MSMEs during the pandemic. By the end of August, she urged the Office of the President to drop the Chinese firms involved in building military installations in the territories of the Philippines in the South China Sea.

Second term (2022–present)

Hontiveros speaking at a Team Robredo–Pangilinan campaign rally in Antipolo, 2022

Hontiveros sought re-election as a senator in the 2022 election under Team Robredo–Pangilinan, the main opposition ticket. She was also named as a guest candidate of the Labor and Ecology Advocates for Democracy (LEAD) senatorial slate of Leody de Guzman, another presidential candidate. She was successfully reelected for a second term, ranking 11th out of the 12 winning candidates with more than 15 million votes. She was projected to be the only opposition senator in the 19th Congress. On June 27, she became the official leader of the opposition after she took her oath of office before outgoing Vice President Leni Robredo at the Quezon City Reception House. Robredo magnified that the torch of the opposition leadership is now in the hands of Hontiveros, who is the highest-elected opposition figure.

During the 19th Congress, she became part of the two-member Senate minority bloc alongside Koko Pimentel, who was elected as Minority Floor Leader. On August 3, 2022, Pimentel named her as Senate Deputy Minority Leader. Hontiveros chairs the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality. In January 2023, Hontiveros revealed that Filipinos were being trafficked to Cambodia for crypto scams by a Chinese mafia group aided by corrupt officials from the immigration bureau. A few months before, her Senate investigations also found that Chinese groups were trafficking Filipinos in Myanmar. The investigations have led to the rescue of multiple Filipino victims.

Hontiveros with the President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen and her pet cat Think Think during a visit to Taiwan, May 2023

In May 2023, Hontiveros visited Taipei, Taiwan, to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu amid China's perceived aggression in the region. She became the first sitting Philippine government official to visit the country, with which the Philippines does not maintain official diplomatic relations due to its adherence to the One China policy, since Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas in 2011. Hontiveros also visited Overseas Filipinos in Taiwan whom she stated were potentially affected by Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian's anti-Taiwan independence statements in the Philippines. Hontiveros stressed the importance of adopting a "peaceful approach" in resolving the South China Sea dispute and expressed her dedication to engaging in diplomatic, legal, and "respectful" negotiations with all relevant states "to advance peace and stability in the entire South China Sea."

Hontiveros opposed the establishment of the Maharlika Investment Fund, the proposed sovereign wealth fund for the Philippines. On May 31, 2023, she became the only senator who voted against the bill proposing its creation, which President Bongbong Marcos certified as urgent a week prior. Hontiveros explained that, while she believed that the country needed a new form of public financing, proposing a sovereign wealth fund was premature and more suitable in the medium term once the Philippine economy has commodity-based surpluses or surpluses from external trade from state-owned enterprises. In June 2023, she again rallied her allies during the 2023 pride march, calling for the passage of the SOGIE Equality Bill. The march was attended by over 110,000 participants, becoming the largest pride march in Southeast Asia. In July 2023, Hontiveros filed a resolution urging the government to declare July 12 as West Philippine Sea Victory Day, in commemoration of the Philippine victory in the South China Sea Arbitration case. In September 2023, during a budget hearing, Hontiveros grilled the ₱500 million confidential fund sought by Vice President Sara Duterte for her office operations. On the same month, a separate investigation in the House found that Duterte spent ₱125 million pesos in confidential funds from her previous budget in only 11 days. Hontiveros has criticized the vice president's spending spree which utilized millions of pesos in confidential funds. On November 7, after a series of Senate investigations led by Hontiveros exposed a religious cult in Socorro. On the same month, Hontiveros filed a resolution urging the government to cooperate with the drug war investigations of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Hontiveros during the Senate investigation of Alice Guo

In May 2024, Senator Hontiveros, along with Senator Gatchalian, led a Senate inquiry on Bamban mayor Alice Guo (or Guo Hua Ping) over the town executive's dubious Filipino citizenship status and links to a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGOs) in her town which was raided for involvement in suspected illicit activities. Guo, who was initially suspected by Hontiveros as a spy, was later confirmed as a Chinese spy by She Zhijiang, a former Chinese spy now jailed in Thailand, who also confirmed that Chinese espionage work in the Philippines was intensified beginning in 2016 during the pro-China pivot of former President Duterte. Senator Hontiveros has called on President Marcos to formally ban POGOs in numerous occasions, a call which was later heeded.

In August 2024, Hontiveros urged the government to take China to international court after China's continued aggressive actions in the South China Sea. On the same month, Hontiveros sought to realign the "improper" ₱10 million book fund request of vice president Sara Duterte, after it was found that the personal book of Duterte would be published and distributed nationwide using public funds.

In October 2024, after the House Quadcom committee confirmed the existence of a reward system created by the previous Duterte government for extra-judicial killings, as well as the existence of a Duterte-sponsored death squad, the Senate launched its own investigations. Hontiveros was the lone senator who confronted former President Duterte in the hearing about his role in the death of young Filipinos such as Kian delos Santos, which later confirmed the remorseless brutalities and killings conducted by Duterte and his previous government. As the hearing progressed, Duterte, on record, accidentally admitted the existence of his death squad and revealed that all his previous police chiefs, including Senator Bato dela Rosa, were heads of his murderous group. On the same month, Hontiveros amplified her push to pass the Magna Carta of Children bill. In November 2024, the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, authored by Hontiveros, were passed into law. The measures added codification on the country's EEZ and established the three official international sea lanes of the country, both adding protections to Philippine national territory and security.

Legislation

Hontiveros has crafted numerous legislation that have benefited the Philippines. A few of her many laws include the following:

• Republic Act 9502 – Cheaper and Quality Medicines Law – significantly decreased the cost of quality medicines in the country.
• Republic Act 9700 – Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension With Reforms (CARPER) Law – improved the agrarian reform program of the government.
• Republic Act 10932 – Act Strengthening the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law – strengthened the penalties against hospitals who violate the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law.
• Republic Act 11036 – Philippine Mental Health Law – safeguards the mental health of Filipino citizens through education, medical advancements, and other support systems.
• Republic Act 11166 – HIV and AIDS Policy Act of 2018 – expands access to evidence-based HIV strategies and facilitates easier access to learning about one's HIV status.
• Republic Act 11313 – Safe Streets and Public Spaces Act – protects Filipinos (notably women) from any forms of street harassment.

Personal life

Senator Hontiveros during the opening session of the Senate.

Risa Hontiveros married Francisco Baraquel Jr., a captain in the Philippine Constabulary, military officer, and former editor-in-chief of The Corp at the Philippine Military Academy. Their relationship began through letters after Baraquel read Hontiveros' essay in her St. Scholastica yearbook. They became pen pals while Hontiveros was a working student at the Ateneo de Manila University and an activist, and Baraquel was a cadet at the Philippine Military Academy. They married in 1990 and had four children: Kiko, Ianna, Issa, and Sinta. Francisco died in 2005 of a heart attack caused by severe asthma, leaving Hontiveros to raise their children as a single parent.

Hontiveros, a licensed scuba diver and former teacher at Ateneo de Manila University, is also a passionate animal welfare advocate. She has adopted multiple stray dogs and cats, including an aspin from the Philippine Animal Welfare Society, the organization founded by her aunt, Nita Hontiveros-Lichauco.

Awards and recognition

• 1994 Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas Golden Dove Awards for Best Female Newscaster
• 2001 Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Award for Peace and Advocacy
• 2005 Nobel Peace Prize nomination
• 2007 Bayi Citation for Exemplary Leadership in Politics and Governance
• 2017 Love Gala Ripple Award for HIV-AIDS awareness
• 2018 Lagablab Network Equality Champion Award
• 2019 Solidar Silver Rose Award for social justice
• 2022 APCOM Shivananda Khan Award for Extraordinary Achievement
• 2022 PeopleAsia's Women of Style and Substance
• 2023 Red Whistle Ally for Change Award
• 2023 National Bahaghari Champion Award
• 2023 Ateneo Government Service Award for exemplary public service
• 2024 PFIP’s Ally of the Year
• 2025 PeopleAsia's People of The Year