By Junex Doronio
WITH THE POSSIBLE presidential run of Senator Risa Hontiveros as the standard bearer of “third force” composed of centrist and moderate left political forces in 2028, self-styled political analyst Ronald Llamas has loomed as her running mate.
This possibility surfaced with the noticeable frequent guestings of Llamas in various podcast interviews.
Reliable sources said Llamas has been the consistent “admirer” of Hontiveros ever since 1986 when the first Marcos administration was toppled down in what is known as EDSA People Power Revolution after 20 years in power.
Their closeness triggered rumors that they were just more than friends or “comrades-in-arms” pursuing the social democratic (socdem) ideals.
In 2013, Llamas was once again rumored to be the boyfriend of Hontiveros but the widow senator denied this “chismis” (gossip).
“I am not seeing him. We never went out. We have been friends and colleagues for decades since I graduated from college. Magkasama kami sa Coalition for Peace,” Hontiveros said then.
Llamas’ “admiration” for Hontiveros can be gleaned in his June 30, 2022 interview with IPS (International Politics and Society) magazine which is based in the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s office in Brussels, Belgium.
IPS asked Llamas: “With Senator Risa Hontiveros, your party holds the only oppositional seat in the senate. What does it mean for your party Akbayan?”
He replied: “Risa Hontiveros will not only be the leader of the opposition in the Senate but in the whole country. The positive thing about being the lone opposition senator in the Senate is that you get to sit in all the committees. This gives her a platform from which to articulate her grievances and her vision.”
Llamas stressed: “Vice-President Robredo has transferred the leadership of the opposition to Risa Hontiveros, so she is now in a strategic position to harness the energies of the pink wave and create a new opposition with Akbayan Party as the lead.”
(ai/mmm)
Ni Liza Soriano
ININSPEKSIYON nina Senador Risa Hontiveros at Win Gatchalian ang gusali ng ni-raid na gaming operator na Smart Web Technology (SWT) sa Pasay City.
Hindi makapaniwala ang dalawang senador kung paano nagawa ng isang Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) na ganito kalaki ang umano’y isang prostitution den sa kabila ng pagiging malapit nito sa lokal na pulisya, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Pasay City Hall, at maging sa Senado.
Kapwa rin na-shock ang dalawang senador nang makita nila nang personal ang tinaguriang “torture room” sa loob ng SWT building.
“Gaya n’yo, na-shock din ako sa nakita ko na torture chamber kung saan ginagapos ang mga empleyado ng Smart Web. Walang ilaw, walang pagkain, pasa-pasa at bugbog-bugbog ang sinapit ng mga biktima ng mapangahas at abusadong employer na ito. The walls are literally blood-stained,” wika ni Hontiveros na siyang chairperson ng Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality.
“Seems like we are now the human trafficking and human slavery hub in the world… Ang kinakatakutan ko, lalala at lalala ito,” ayon naman kay Gatchalian.
Ngunit ang mas nakababahala, anila, ay ang pagkakatuklas ng Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) na isang grupo ang nagbibigay ng mga tunay na Philippine government ID sa mga dayuhang manggagawa ng POGO.
“From our initial verification made with the commissioner of the BIR… Nagulat po sila nang malaman nila na nakapasok po sa sistema nila itong mga IDs na ito. So authentic po,” ayon kay PAOCC Executive Director Gilbert Cruz.
(ai/mnm)
By Liza Soriano
Senator Risa Hontiveros has urged Malacañang to impose a ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) to safeguard the national security of the country.
During a hearing on the proliferation of scam hubs in the Philippines, the senator expressed concerns about government identification cards (such as TIN ID, PhilHealth ID, Alien Certificate of Registration, Alien Employment Permit, and Police Clearance ID) that were fraudulently obtained for Chinese nationals employed by Smart Web Technology, a recently raided company in Pasay City.
“It seems that even without waiting in line, the Chinese are being issued IDs. They use these IDs as a means to become legal residents in the Philippines and acquire a Philippine passport,” remarked Hontiveros.
“The more painful question is: Do they have accomplices within government agencies? Considering our ongoing dispute in the West Philippine Sea, it is alarming that we are granting unfettered access to our country to Chinese citizens through these POGO hubs,” added the lawmaker.
“The President should already ban POGO. If he genuinely wants to defend our country against those who disrespect our sovereignty, he should include the entire online gambling industry in the entities being expelled from our territory.”
Hontiveros then raised concerns about the issuance of birth certificates in the Philippines to Chinese nationals, which they subsequently use to apply for Philippine passports.
“Why do these Chinese individuals need to falsify their nationality to become Filipino citizens? If their only motive is to work, they can do so by applying for alien employment permits,” the lady lawmaker stressed.
(ai/mnm)
By Junex Doronio
IT’S TIME TO ENFORCE THE LAW passed in 2021 penalizing child marriage.
This was the firm stance of Senator Risa Hontiveros following the Senate’s ocular visit at the Sitio Kapihan in Socorro, Surigao Del Norte where infant bodies were discovered to have been buried in a mass grave.
“It is relatively a new law, ‘yung law prohibiting child marriage, pero masaya ako na dito sa iniimbestigahan naming kaso ng child marriage among other violations of children’s rights and people’s rights doon sa Socorro, Surigao Del Norte particularly sa Kapihan,” Hontiveros said.
Sitio Kapihan is reportedly a mountainside community run by the Socorro Bayanihan Services Incorporated (SBSI) headed by Jey Rence Quilario, also known as “Señor Agila”, who claims to be the “reincarnation of Sto. Niño.”
She explained that the ongoing Senate investigation into the SBSI leaders of the alleged cult in Socorro, Surigao Del Norte can be a test case to imprison those who violate the anti-child marriage law.
Hontiveros said the infant bodies could either be casualties in the performance of miracles by alleged cult leader Quilario, or even be the offsprings of girl brides forced into marriages.
“Apparently, unang pagkakataon na gagamitin itong batas na ito laban sa mga lider doon… May accountabilities and penalties both sa mag-officiate, mag-facilitate, mag-groom ng mga bata para sa child marriage,” she added.
It was learned that Republic Act 11596 prohibits the facilitation and solemnization of child marriage, as well as co-habitation of an adult with a child outside wedlock, imposing a jail term of prision mayor and a P40,000-P50,000 fine on those convicted of the crime. (ai/mnm)
By Liza Soriano
Senator Risa Hontiveros urged the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to complete and publish the findings of its “long-promised” reset of the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) for both transmission and distribution charges, both of which have significantly raised the price of electricity.
Hontiveros made the statement following the distribution utility giant Meralco’s announcement that its power rate had increased for the second consecutive month in October.
As a result, a Filipino home using 200 kilowatt hours (kWh) per month may see an increase in their monthly power bill of P84.
“Ngayong tumaas na naman ang singil sa kuryente, sana ay ilabas na ng ERC ang pinal na report para sa reset ng WACC ng transmission operator na National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), at tapusin na ang WACC reset ng distribution utilities gaya ng Meralco. In this economic crisis, fixing the WACC rates will go a long way in lowering the transmission and distribution costs being passed on to consumers every month,” Hontiveros said on Tuesday.
The senator, who has been calling for a review of WACC rates since 2019, explained that the WACC is one of the “building blocks” for computing power costs under the government’s rate-setting methodology called the “Performance-Based Regulation (PBR).”
Hontiveros noted that the WACC rates set for NGCP (15.04 percent) and distributors like Meralco (14.97 percent) are “shockingly excessive,” when compared to WACC rates allowed in neighboring countries like Malaysia (7.5) Thailand (7.2 percent), and Indonesia (2.3 percent).
“In the 3rd Regulatory Period in 2015, the 15.04 percent WACC for NGCP allowed it to obtain a 66 percent profit, while the 14.97 percent WACC for Meralco allowed it to obtain a 48 percent profit. That meant only 34 percent of NGCP’s collections and 52 percent of Meralco’s collections went to capital recovery, operation costs and maintenance. Kung ibaba natin sa risonableng 8 percent ang WACC, bababa ang malaking tubo ng NGCP at Meralco, at bababa din ang transmission at distribution charge na pinapataw sa consumers,” she pointed out.
While officials from the ERC recently assured senators that its reset process for the WACC rate for the NGCP is now complete, Hontiveros said that she hopes that the full reset report will be made public “sooner than later,” since the lowering of NGCP’s WACC “has been especially long overdue.”
“It’s time for ERC to get its act together, and use its regulatory powers to protect the interests of consumers who are dealing with high prices of basic goods and services. Kakarampot ang kita ng ordinaryong pamilyang Pilipino na pinagkakasya sa iba’t-ibang bayarin para sa pagkain, baon sa eskwela, pamasahe at iba pa. Unahin naman natin ang kapakanan ng publiko na nahihirapan na sa mahal na singil ng kuryente,” Hontiveros concluded.
(ai/mnm)
Ni Liza Soriano
MANILA — Naghain ng resolusyon si Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros na naglalayong imbestigahan ang serye ng mga insidente ng hacking at data breach na kinasasangkutan ng mga website ng gobyerno.
Layon din ng Senate Resolution 829 na matukoy kung ang umiiral na mga hakbang sa cybersecurity sa mga ahensiya ng gobyerno na humahawak ng mahahalagang impormasyon sa pambansang seguridad ay sapat.
Ito ay upang masuri ang kasalukuyang kapasidad ng pamahalaan upang ma-secure ang mga kritikal na strategic infrastructure mula sa cyberattacks at iba pang potensyal na banta.
“The breach of personal and sensitive information kept by government agencies endangers the safety and security of all Filipinos—leaving us even more vulnerable to increasingly nefarious schemes involving text message spams, online scams, phishing, financial fraud, extortion, blackmail, and identity theft,” giit ni Hontiveros.
Nitong Linggo, na-hack din ang website ng House of Representatives at kinumpirma ng Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) ito nitong Lunes.
Kamakailan ay na-hack din ang system ng Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Department of Science and Technology, Philippine National Police at ang Philippine Statistics Office.
Naghain din si Senador Mark Villar ng katulad na resolusyon na humihimok sa Senado na imbestigahan ang cyberattacks da mga website ng PhilHealth at iba pang ahensiya ng gobyerno.
(ai/mnm)
By Dang Samson Garcia
SENATOR Risa Hontiveros on Saturday confirmed the Department of Social Welfare and Development recorded no less than 22 child marriages in Sitio Kapihan, where the Socorro Bayanihan Services Inc. or so-called Socorro ‘cult’ was based.
Hontiveros further said more irregularities were observed in Sitio Kapihan after her staff, together with the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, led an ocular inspection in the area.
She disclosed the child marriages inside Sitio Kapihan unfortunately led to young girls getting pregnant.
Hontiveros stressed a full investigation on the condition of the children born out of child marriages is forthcoming.
The senator also mentioned the absence of lists and record-keeping in SBSI regarding those who died inside Sitio Kapihan, including the location of where they were buried as well as their cause of death.
Hontiveros also pointed out the huge possibility of identity theft in relation to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program due to the lack of basic official documents of those who are residing inside Sitio Kapihan.
“Sa susunod na hearing namin sa Senado, dapat ipaliwanag nila Senyor Agila at ng liderato ng SBSI ang mga lumalabas na iregularidad na ito sa loob ng Sitio Kapihan,” Hontiveros stressed.
The lawmaker is also urging the Department of Education, along with DSWD, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Justice, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Housing Settlements and Urban Development along with other government agencies to assist in the integration of the SBSI members back to mainstream society.
“Mula sa pabahay, sa hanapbuhay, hanggang sa edukasyon ng mga kabataang natigil sa pag-aaral, sana ay maihatid natin ang tulong na kailangan ng mga kababayan natin sa Sitio Kapihan,” she added.
By Junex Doronio
MULI NA NAMANG BINANATAN ni Senadora Risa Hontiveros si Vice President Sara Duterte at sinabing kahit noong mayor pa lang ito ng Davao City ay mahilig na ito sa “confidential funds” at sa katunayan ay gumasta ito ng P460 million kada taon mula 2019 hanggang 2022.
Ayon kay Hontiveros, ito ay base sa ulat ng Commission on Audit (COA) at lumabas na mga balita.
“Nakakalula ang halos kalahating bilyong confidential funds ng Davao City kada taon, kung ikukumpara sa confidential fund ng mga malaki at mayamang lungsod gaya ng Makati, Manila at Cebu na hindi man lang umabot sa P100 million,” puna ni Hontiveros.
Pinansin ng senadora ang hilig umano ni Inday Sara sa paggasta ng mga sikretong pondo na nag-umpisa mula noong mayor pa siya ng Davao City at nagpatuloy sa kasalukuyan bilang Vice President, sa kanyang paghingi ng kabuuang P650 million na confidential funds para sa Office of the Vice President (OVP) at sa Department of Education (DepEd) kung saan siya ang Kalihim.
Bagaman may “fiscal autonomy” ang mga local government unit (LGU) sa ilalim ng 1987 Constitution, tinanong ni Hontiveros ang katuwiran o ang kawastuhan ng Davao City noong mayor pa si Inday Sara na magkaroon ng “P460 million in annual confidential funds” mula 2019 hanggang 2022.
Di hamak na mas malaki ito kumpara sa taunang P10 million intelligence funds ng Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) mula 2013 hanggang 2023, dagdag ng oposisyon na mambabatas.
“While Davao City faces existing security challenges, are these challenges really so much worse than China’s incursions and abuses in our territorial waters? Inaagaw na rin ba ng Tsina ang teritoryo nila tulad sa West Philippine Sea?” tanong ni Hontiveros.
Kanyang idinagdag na babanggitin niya ulit ang kuwestiyonableng paggamit ng confidential and intelligence funds sa Senate plenary debates sa mungkahing 2024 budget.
“Ang pera ng taumbayan ay hindi ATM ng mga pulitiko na basta-basta pwedeng gastusin at ubusin,” diin pa ni Hontiveros. (ai/mnm)
By Dang Samson Garcia
SENATORS Risa Hontiveros and Ronald Dela Rosa filed separate resolutions seeking to investigate alleged cases of rape, sexual abuse, forced labor and child marriage perpetrated by an alleged cult, as well as the alleged shabu laboratory in Socorro, Surigao del Norte.
In Senate Resolution 797, Hontiveros said the cult, identified as the Socorro Bayanihan Services, Inc., now known as Omega de Salonera, has been made to believe that one Jey Rence Quilario is the Messiah.
The organization has 3,650 members, including 1,587 children.
“Nakakakilabot ang nabuong kulto sa Surigao. Pero mas nakakakilabot at nakakagalit ang mga kaso ng panggagahasa, pananakit, at pilit na pagkakasal na ginawa sa mga menor de edad. We must put an end to this. As chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women and Children, and as a mother, I ask us not to allow this monstrosity to continue,” Hontiveros said.
“Last July, eight children ran away from the cult after repeated instances of abuse and exploitation. These children are in grave and present danger. Makapangyarihan at may impluwensya ang kulto. Ginagawa nila ngayon ang lahat para makuha mula sa LGU at DSWD ang mga bata. The children’s parents, who are still part of the cult, are asked to file petitions for habeas corpus, in order to recover the minors from the local government,” she added.
“Ang malala, nagtagumpay na sila sa isang bata at plano nilang isa-isahin ang mga nakatakas na bata hangga’t sa bumalik sa kulto. Ang mga bata na po mismo ang nagmamakaawa na huwag na silang ibalik doon. Bakit nga naman nilang gugustuhing bumalik sa isang komunidad, sa isang lider na nanloloko, nanggagahasa, at nananakit sa kanila?” the senator added.
Hontiveros also revealed that members of the cult were made to perform acts of forced labor under pain of physical punishment, and were also forced to surrender 40-60% of their social welfare benefits, such as 4Ps, senior citizen pensions, TUPAD, and AICS, to Quilario.
Meanwhile, Dela Rosa filed Senate Resolution 796 seeking to investigate the alleged shabu laboratory being maintained by the alleged cult.
By: Junex Doronio
REMINISCENT OF THE bitter experience of former Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binary who had been leading the surveys as the preferred presidential bet in 2016 but lost due to corruption charges against him, the controversy of P125-million confidential funds for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) may gravely affect Vice President Sara Duterte’s chances in a three-way presidential race with Speaker Martin Romualdez and Senator Risa Hontiveros.
Political analyst and University of the Philippines professor Ela Atienza noted that Duterte attacked Hontivero because she perceived the senator as a “threat”.
“The highest ranking opposition now is Risa. But the point is, [Duterte] has to show that she knows something, at lumalabas napakapikon niya, ‘di ba?” Atienza said.
The UP professor also recalled the case of Binay who had to face controversies mid-term and now VP Sara already had to grapple with them in her first year of office.
Failing to give satisfactory answers on how confidential funds of the OVP were used in 2022 when no line item for them existed in the previous budget, Duterte resorted to personal attacks against her critics, singling out Hontiveros and ACT Teachers Representative France Castro.
Atienza said that Duterte engaging in a word war with Hontiveros and trying to dodge explaining her CF only showed that she wasn’t ready to be criticized nor questioned.
“In Davao, she’s spoiled. In Davao, there’s a group of people protecting her, they answer for her. They run the city hall for her. She is very defensive because she’s not used to being criticized. She usually has other people answering for her but this is the national stage,” she said.
On the other hand, sociologist Jayeel Cornelio said that while Sara enjoys tremendous popularity while reaping the benefits of the Duterte brand (thanks to her father, former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte), she cannot escape public scrutiny when it comes to issues of corruption. (AI/MNM)
By Dang Samson Garcia
SENATOR Risa Hontiveros on Monday bared a harrowing story of rape, sexual violence, child abuse and forced marriage perpetrated on minors by a cult in the Municipality of Socorro, Surigao del Norte.
In her privilege speech, Hontiveros said around 1,000 children who are under the care of people’s organization named Socorro Bayanihan Services are exposed to such abuses.
“I am of the belief that all children are our children. Mayroon tayong responsibilidad na protektahan ang lahat ng bata, at kung may kahit isang bata na nasa panganib o inaabuso, tungkulin natin na sila ay saklolohan,” Hontiveros said.
“Dear colleagues, a community of children in Socorro, Surigao del Norte is crying for help. These children are our children. Ang pinag-uusapan nating mga bata ay higit sa isang libong kabataan na nasa kamay ng isang mapanlinlang, malupit, at mapang-abusong kulto,” she added.
Socorro Bayanihan Services is a civic organization founded to help each member but in 2017, the organization has changed.
“Ayon sa mga taga-Socorro, kasama ang mismong Mayor ng munisipalidad, nagsimula ang kulto noong may isang dise-syete na taong gulang na bata na grinoom para maging susunod na di umanong tagapagligtas. Kinumbinse ng lider ng organisasyon na itong si Jey Rence Quilario na ang gawing lider ng Socorro Bayanihan Services dahil nga siya ang susunod na Messias. Siya raw ang bagong Hesus. Siya raw ang magliligtas sa kanila,” Hontiveros said.
“Siya ay binigyan ng script, tinuruan paano tumindig at magsalita nang may tikas ng isang Mamerto Galanida na three-term mayor ng Socorro at 3 term na BOCAL. Pagkatapos ay idineklara ni Jey Rence sa komunidad na siya raw ang reincarnation ni Senior Santo Nino,” she added.
The senator said that last Februady 2019, the group saw an opportunity after an earthquake struck their area.
“Sinabihan niya (Senyor) ang mga tao na sumama sa kanya sa bundok na ang tawag ay Kapihan dahil iyon daw ang langit. At ang hindi sumama sa kanya ay masusunog sa impyerno,” she said.
“As a result, there was a mass exodus to the mountain by the thousands of members of the organization, now having all the indicators of a religious cult. At hindi lang po ito mga ordinaryong tao na di nakapag-aral,” she said.
The LGU recorded mass resignations of teachers and government employees.
Enrollment at the Socorro East and West Districts plunged.
“The mountain allowed the cult to continue its activities without scrutiny. And this is where the harrowing tales of child abuse come in,” Hontiveros said.
“This cult is armed and dangerous. Ayon sa isa pang menor de edad na itatago natin sa pangalang Renz, nakita niya mismo ang mga armas ng kultong ito. At nakita din niya ang sinasakong armas noong eleksyon,” she added.
“We need to save those children. It is our duty not just as senators, but also as parents, as human beings, to save children in most need of our help. We managed to raise the age of sexual consent, we passed the law penalizing child marriage, we strengthened protections against child trafficking,” she said.
(by Dang Samson Garcia)
SENATOR Risa Hontiveros urged the Department of Education to prioritize the School-Based Mental Health Program to boost the safety of the country’s learning environment.
In her manifestation after the chamber approved on third and final reading Senate Bill 2200 or the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-being Promotion Act, Hontiveros said that a school-based mental health program should be given funding priority.
“I do hope that our education authorities will be up to the challenge of institutionalizing and sustaining mental health programs in our schools,” she said.
“Buo po ang paniniwala ko na itong panukalang batas na pinasa natin for third reading ngayon would complement and further strengthen our existing Mental Health Act o RA 11036 na atin ding isinabatas five years ago,” Hontiveros said.
She said that students and their families will greatly benefit from accessible school-based mental health services.
These services can address academic stress self-injurious and harmful behaviors such as suicide.
By Dang Samson Garcia
SENATOR Risa Hontiveros warned against possible abuses from the surveillance conducted in schools, saying that the government’s primordial duty is to foster an environment of freedom and dignity for students.
“Children are never legitimate targets for spying. Hindi dapat madamay ang mga estudyante sa surveillance laban sa mga abusado at kriminal,” Hontiveros said.
The lawmaker issued the statement in response to the Department of Education’s admission that they are conducting surveillance operations in educational institutions.
“Ayon mismo kay VP Duterte noong hearing, ang target ng surveillance operation ay ‘learners, and our teaching and non-teaching DepEd personnel.’ This raises a lot of alarming questions. Sino ang mismong nangongolekta at nagko-conduct ng surveillance sa mga paaralan? May mga guro ba o principal na isasali sa surveillance activities?” Hontiveros said.
“Keeping our children safe includes keeping them away from the potential abuse associated with state surveillance. Hayaan nating matuto ang kabataan nang walang pag-aalinlangan kung sila ba ay tinitiktikan,” the chairman of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality added.
The senator called for greater transparency on the scope and extent of these surveillance operations, especially if these infringe on the special protection and rights of children.
She reiterated her call to reallocate the DepEd’s proposed confidential budget of P150 million and for the agency to focus on fulfilling its basic mandate of providing accessible, equitable and quality basic education.