Latest news with #Hontiveros
GMA Network
15-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Risa Hontiveros open to join Senate 'veterans bloc'
Senator Risa Hontiveros said Tuesday she is open to the possibility of joining the five-man "veterans bloc" at the Senate. The so-called veterans bloc of the upper chamber is composed of Senator Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri, Senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, Senator Loren Legarda, Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, and Lito Lapid. They are pushing for the reinstatement of Sotto as Senate president, replacing Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero. According to Hontiveros, she also considers herself as a veteran lawmaker, as she is currently serving her second six-year term in the Senate. "I have to be open to all possibilities na consistent doon sa gusto kong pagpapalakas ng oposisyon para sa 2028 and beyond," Hontiveros said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview. (I have to be open to all possibilities that are consistent with my goal to strengthen the opposition for 2028 and beyond.) However, she said her final decision on the matter will be revealed on July 28, when the 20th Congress begins its first regular session. Zubiri had floated the possibility of the veterans bloc forming the Senate minority bloc in the 20th Congress. Legarda, meanwhile, said the bloc has yet to decide whether they will be in the minority. Hontiveros also said she does not feel betrayed amid reports that Senators Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan and Bam Aquino—both of whom she endorsed and supported during the 2025 midterm elections—will be joining the Senate majority bloc. "Ang akin naman, kanya-kanyang desisyon po 'yan. Nagrerespetuhan kami. And alam din naman nila sa akin naman, patuloy din akong maninindigan sa paraan na tingin ko, consistent para sa akin na mag-ambag pa rin sa pagpapalakas ng oposisyon sa labas din ng Senado," she said. (For me, we have our own decision. We respect each other. They also know that I will continue to stand by my goal to strengthen the opposition outside the Senate as well.) She also reiterated that she continues to talk with Pangilinan and Aquino regarding their plans. Amid speculations that he would join the Senate majority bloc, Pangilinan has maintained that he is willing to work with all political parties in a bid to address high food prices and hunger in the country. 'Alice Guo of Manila' Meanwhile, Hontiveros urged law enforcers to continue investigating those behind the selling of government-issued IDs to non-Filipinos. This developed after Immigration authorities arrested a Chinese woman at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for allegedly misrepresenting herself as a Filipino. The suspect allegedly acquired a fake Philippine passport and birth certificate through late registration despite being a Chinese holding an investor's visa. Hontiveros admitted that such news does not surprise her anymore, as the Senate hearings on the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo showed that official Filipino documents "have been up for sale and used for evil." "Nobody should be able to purchase being a Filipino," she said in a statement. "Government agencies like the PSA and DFA should also consider cleaning up their ranks, kung kinakailangan. Dapat bigyang-prayoridad ng gobyerno ang paglinis sa mga dumi at kalat na iniwan ng mga POGO," she added. (Government agencies like the PSA and DFA should also consider cleaning up their ranks, if needed. The government should prioritize cleaning up the mess left behind by POGOs.) — VDV, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
14-07-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
Hontiveros wants e-wallets, super apps to also ‘self-regulate' vs. online gambling
Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday expressed hope that e-wallet and super app companies will take steps to self-regulate amid the prevalence of online gambling in the country. Hontiveros, who earlier filed a bill seeking to ban online gambling access in e-wallets and super apps, made the remark as three of the country's largest integrated resort-casino operators said that their online gaming operations comply with laws and regulations. 'Kung sinasabi ng malalaking mga casino na sumusunod na sila sa mga kasalukuyang regulasyon, okay yun. Ibig sabihin, hindi rin magiging problema kung magdagdag man ng paghihigpit pagdating sa online gambling,' the lady senator said. (If big casinos say they are following regulations, that's well and good. That means there should be no issue if we tighten access to online gambling.) Despite this, she questioned why e-wallet and super app companies are seemingly silent regarding claims that have made online gambling easier to access. 'Sa dami ng reklamo na napadali ng e-wallets at super apps ang online gambling, bakit tila tahimik ang mga kumpanyang ito? Umaasa akong magkakaroon rin sila ng sarili nilang regulasyon dahil hindi biro ang mga buhay na nasira at pwedeng masira dahil sa online gambling,' Hontiveros said. (With so many complaints pointing to how phones have made online gambling too easy to access, why are e-wallet and super app companies silent? I hope that they would also take steps to self-regulate. Too many lives have been ruined and could be ruined by online gambling. Too many families have already been hurt.) 'Napakaraming nagme-message sa opisina namin sa Senado, dahil sa dami na ng nalululong, nalulubog sa utang, at namamatay dahil sa bisyo na ito. Sa ganitong sitwasyon, hindi na sapat ang pagsunod lamang sa batas. Kailangan din nating makiisa,' she added. (My office in the Senate has received numerous messages from people desperate for help. These are reports of loved ones who have become addicted, buried in debt, and who've taken their own lives due to this vice. In this situation, it's not enough that we follow the law. We also need to care. We need to act together.) 'Enablers of debt' Meanwhile, Senator JV Ejercito, who also filed a resolution seeking for the regulation of online gambling and lending in the country, said that e-wallet companies have become a way for Filipinos to go into debt. 'Ang e-wallet ay ginawa para padaliin ang buhay ng mga Pilipino, hindi para maging enablers ng sugal at utang—dalawang bagay na sumisira sa mga pamilya at kinabukasan. Hindi dapat pinapayagan na gatasan pa ang kahinaan ng ilan nating kababayan,' Ejercito said. (E-wallets were created to make the lives of Filipinos easier, not to be enablers of gambling and debt—two things that destroy families and the future. It should not be allowed to take advantage of the weakness of some of our countrymen.) 'Once a financial tool begins enabling addiction, it is the government's duty to intervene. To strictly regulate and stop them from further fueling this gambling culture,' he continued. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), for its part, is now looking to have payment service providers (PSPs) create a facility that would allow users to create a separate online gambling transaction account (OGTA), which will then be placed under stricter rules in a bid to protect clients from risks associated with the industry. Under a draft circular released to stakeholders for exposure, the central bank is looking to have players create an OGTA in order to participate in online gambling. With the creation of an OGTA, all lending options in the digital platform will be disabled. Monumental step Senator Sherwin Gatchalian welcomed this move by the BSP, emphasizing that it is a monumental step toward the responsible use of digital services. 'Daily caps, time limits, and biometric verification can help curb the alarming rise of gambling addiction, especially among the youth,' he said. Like the other senators, Gatchalian has also proposed a measure that would impose strict regulations for online gambling in the country as part of efforts to address the growing gambling addiction especially among the youth. — BM, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
10-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Kiko Pangilinan on possibly joining Senate majority: ‘Hunger has no color'
Senator Francis 'Kiko' Pangilinan on Thursday maintained that he is willing to work with all political parties in a bid to address high food prices and hunger in the country. This, amid speculations that he and Senator Bam Aquino—-both of whom were endorsed and supported by Senator Risa Hontiveros during the 2025 midterm elections—-will be joining the Senate majority bloc. 'I've read reports, read posts on social media for and against, and I've been told of rumblings regarding political alignments. Critics say I will be 'selling out to the enemy' should I pursue a certain path. They are free to say what they wish,' Pangilinan said in a Facebook post. 'I did publicly express a willingness to work with all parties along principled boundaries to bring down high food prices and hunger. I know who I am, I know what I stand for. My political track record is an open book,' he added. The returning senator also recalled his previous statement that he is open to setting aside partisan politics so both the legislative and executive branches of the government 'can work together effectively to deliver solutions.' 'In this regard, I believe what I ought to do, amidst all the chatter, the brickbats, is to focus on what I said I would do and simply walk the walk,' Pangilinan said. He also explained that he, Aquino, and Hontiveros are still talking to discuss their plans once the 20th Congress begins its first regular session later this month. 'Kung anuman ang magiging opisyal at pinal na pasya sa Senado sa July 28, maninindigan pa rin tayo nang puspusan para pawiin ang gutom para sa magsasaka at mangingisda at para sa mababang presyo ng bigas at pagkain,' he said. (Regardless of what our official and final decision in the Senate on July 28 will be, we will still stand firm to address hunger for farmers and fishermen, and to lower the prices of rice and food.) Not hurt Senator Risa Hontiveros, meanwhile, said she was not hurt by the possibility of Pangilinan and Aquino joining the majority bloc. 'Hindi ako nahu-hurt dahil, 'yun na nga eh, sabi ko nga, basta patuloy akong maninindigan,' Hontiveros said in an ambush interview at the Department of Justice on Wednesday. (I am not hurt because, as I said, I will continue to fight.) 'Kung ang bawat isa sa amin ay may sariling diskarte, ako rin naman po, basta nakatutok pa rin ako do'n sa layunin na palakasin 'yung oposisyon, hindi lang sa loob, pati sa labas ng Senado,' she added. (If each one of us has our own strategies, I am like that as well, I will focus on the goal to strengthen the opposition, not only within but also outside the Senate.) Hontiveros, who was part of the two-man minority bloc in the 19th Congress along with former Senate minority leader Aquilino 'Koko' Pimentel III, said she is still monitoring the developments in the Senate. The lady senator, however, maintained that she will become an independent senator. 'Basta para sa akin, mananatili akong independent senator para katuwang ako nung palalakasin na oposisyon sa labas, sa buong bansa,' she said. (As for me, I will be an independent senator to help strengthen the opposition nationwide.) Hontiveros had floated the possibility of joining or forming an independent bloc in the 20th Congress, saying that it is 'more realistic' to do so considering the numbers.—AOL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
09-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Sara Duterte urges alias Rene to file charges after recanting
Vice President Sara Duterte has called on former Senate witness Michael Maurillo or alias Rene to file charges after he claimed that he was influenced to testify against her, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and detained pastor Apollo Quiboloy. The Vice President made the remark Tuesday when asked in an interview in The Hague, Netherlands about her reaction that alias Rene took back his testimony against them. "That is a very serious accusation and it should be answered clearly kung ano ba talaga ang nangyari (to get to the bottom of things)," Duterte said. "Kung sa tingin ni alias Rene na dapat siya ay dapat mag-file din ng kaso, ay dapat na gawin niya din 'yun para nasasabi niya 'yung totoo sa loob ng korte at nakakasagot din ang maayos 'yung mga akusado sa loob din ng korte," she added. (If alias Rene thinks that he should also file a case, then he should do that so that he can tell the truth in court and the accused can also answer the charges properly.) Before his recantation, Rene testified before the Senate committee chaired by Senator Risa Hontiveros that he witnessed the Dutertes carrying firearms from Quiboloy's property. Hontiveros on Wednesday filed separate cyber libel complaints with the Department of Justice (DOJ) against a lawyer, five social media personalities, and alias Rene. This came Rene, in a video posted on Facebook, alleged that he was paid by Hontiveros to speak lies against Quiboloy and the Dutertes. The senator, in return, called the video "fake news" and "witness tampering" as she asserted that the former Senate witness was not coerced to testify in the hearing. Sara also alleged that Rene had interactions with supposed witnesses in the case of her father Rodrigo before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. "Nabasa ko na 'yung affidavit niya bago pa man siya lumabas publicly. In fact, mayroong mga nakalagay doon na nakasama niya ang mga witnesses kuno ng ICC doon sa isang bahay kung saan siya pinatira ni Senator Hontiveros," she said. (I have read his affidavit even before he went public. In fact, there were some things written there, that he was put in a house with the supposed witnesses of the ICC, by Senator Hontiveros.) She also said the alleged false testimony should be a cause of concern. "In fact, sinabihan ko din ang lawyer ni President Duterte noon na mayroon nga gan'un na statement 'yung witness against Pastor Quiboloy na ngayon ay nagsasabi na hindi totoo 'yung mga sinabi niya. Sinabi niya na nakasama niya sa tirahan ang mga witnesses ng ICC," Duterte added. (In fact, I also told President Duterte's lawyer that the witness against Pastor Quiboloy had made such a statement and now he is saying that what he said was not true. He said the ICC witnesses were with him in a house.) Last week, Hontiveros filed a complaint with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) against Rene and the Pagtanggol Valiente social media account, which posted his videos. She also asked the NBI to investigate the individuals behind Pagtanggol Valiente, noting that it was created on the day after Maurillo's last message to the senator's camp asking for help, as well as other vloggers. Curious Risa Meanwhile, Hontiveros questioned how the Vice President got hold of Rene's affidavit before his video was published on social media. "I am also very very curious kung paano nakuha ni VP Sara ang salaysay ni Michael ahead of his fake news video (I am also very very curious how VP Sara got a copy of Michael's ahead of his fake news video)," the senator said in a statement. She also maintained her stance that the claims Rene made in a video were lies. "I stand by the statements I made earlier na pawang kasinungalingan ang nasa video (I stand by statements I made earlier that everything claimed in the video is false). If Michael has executed a new affidavit containing lies about me and the victim survivors of Quiboloy, then in my opinion this opens him up to perjury in addition to the case I filed today," Hontiveros added. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
AFP
03-07-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Philippine senator's plea to colleagues misrepresented as 'vow to defy constitution'
"We will be defying the constitution, we, the senators," Hontiveros is heard saying in Tagalog in a Facebook reel posted on June 26, 2025. It was shared after the Senate voted to send back to the House of Representatives the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte (archived link). The vice president was impeached by the lower house in February on charges of graft, corruption and an alleged assassination plot against one-time ally and former running mate President Ferdinand Marcos. A conviction in the Senate would require the support of two-thirds of its 24 members, and would see Duterte removed as vice president and permanently banned from public office. Before the case can return to the Senate, the House must certify that it did not violate the constitution in its handling of impeachment proceedings and that it remained willing to prosecute the case after its new members take their seats. Hontiveros opposed the motion to send the case to the lower body, calling the decision a "functional dismissal'. Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on July 1, 2025, with a red X added by AFP The clip also spread in similar Facebook and TikTok posts. "Wow, defy the constitution? You think you're more powerful than the country's laws?" read a comment on one of the posts. Another wrote: "She really wants to remove the vice president!" But the clip has been misleadingly edited to omit Hontiveros's full remarks. It was also earlier fact-checked by Philippine media organisation Vera Files (archived link). A reverse image search on Google using a keyframe from the falsely shared clip found it was taken from a news conference held by Hontiveros on June 9 (archived link). At the 9:15 mark, Hontiveros was asked if she thinks convening as an impeachment court is optional for the Senate. "Oh, definitely not. Definitely not," she says before responding further in Tagalog. "If we look at it and act as if convening as an impeachment court is optional, we will be defying the constitution, we, the senators. "And that's why I've been saying that will not allow this. As a senator, I will not agree to that." Her answer is also shown in the transcript of the press conference published on the Senate's website (archived link). Duterte's impeachment has spawned a wave of misinformation debunked by AFP here.
