SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS.pptx

pRESENTATION

1. SENATOR OF THE PHILIPPINES

2. Risa Hontiveros Ana Theresia Navarro Hontiveros- Baraquel  ( Tagalog  pronunciation:  [ˈ ɾisa 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]