Risa’s 2nd try for the Senate/ Milk formula at evacuation centers
She’s one of the most visible figures in the political and social landscape, cutting a striking figure with a colorful “alampay” ( shawl) slung on a shoulder, being quoted in the papers for comments on issues, her picture showing her at functions in Malacanang. Our women in media group having made it a point to meet and know the thinking of candidates in the 2013 senatorial race, we had for dinner at XO bistro in Makati Risa Hontiveros, the chair of Akbayan Party and articulate co-sponsor of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill in the 15th Congress.
Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, 46, is running for the second time for a seat in the Senate, her first try having been in the 2010 election which she lost by a mere 900,000 votes to get the 12th seat (that’s now occupied by Sen. Teofisto Guingona Jr.) She told us she’s more ready and prepared to slug it out the second time around.
She has legislative experience qualifying her for a senatorial job. She was a House Representative twice (2004-2010) under the banner of the Akbayan Party, and managed, despite her oppositionist stance, to push for the passage of two of the bills that she principally authored: the Cheaper Medicines law, which aims to lower the cost of essential medicines, and the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER) Law, which give farmers the chance to own the land they are tilling.
Risa’s political militancy started at the age of 15, when she joined protest allies and spoke against the Bataan Nuclear Plant, US military bases in the country, and disarmament. At St. Scholastica’s College, hotbed of student activism inspired by the college president, fearless Sister Mary John Mananzan, OSB, she was, “of course, very anti-Marcos.” It did not come as a surprise to her comrades, that she would join Akbayan Citizens Action Party, whose rallying cry, she said, is active citizenship, meaning letting citizens know their rights and responsibilities in society, and whose ideology is democracy and social justice. It’s no wonder, then, that she agreed to be a guest candidate of the Liberal Party in the 2013 election campaign, the LP’s and Akbayan’s advocacies being the same — human rights, civil liberties, and respect for the law.
At the Ateneo de Manila University where she graduated cum laude with a degree in AB Social sciences, she was an active leader in the student government. While still in school, she joined the broadcast industry and in a short time, became a co-host and segment producer for a number of television shows. Her performance brought her the Golden Dove for Best Female Newscaster award from the Kapisanan ng Mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP).
In 2001, she received the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Award for Peace Advocacy and was one of the 1,000 women across the world who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. At the age of 22, she became the secretary general of the Coalition for Peace, and eventually became part of the Government Panel for Peace talks.
Blessed with good looks, Risa belongs to the Hontiveros, Miraflores, Acevedo and Pardo clans of Aklan and Capiz on her father’s side. On her mother’s side she is related to the Suasas of Cavite and the Navarros of Mindoro. She met her husband, Rafael Baraquel, a Philippine Military Academy cadet from Albay through the mail. He had seen her picture in her school yearbook, and wrote her long, long letters, which eventually led to romance and marriage. Rafael was from Camarines Sur and Albay. After graduation, he joined the Philippine National Police, and was a lieutenant colonel when, unfortunately, he passed away in 2005 due to a severe asthma attack, leaving Risa custody of their four children, Kiko, Issa, Ianna and Sinta. Recalling her happy marriage, Risa said she and her husband had different ideologies, but he never disapproved of her activities.
Risa is pretty and glamorous, and quite friendly. She is a talented singer. When she was 13, she played one of the Von Trapp children in Repertory Philippines’ production of the “Sound of Music” with Lea Salonga, Monique Wilson and Raymond Lauchengco. At our dinner, she willingly obliged us by singing “All I Ask of You,” a number from “Phantom of the Opera.”
A nature lover, she is a licensed scuba diver. She does yoga, avoids soda and dark meat, and does not smoke. What does she do during her free time? Go to mass with her children (which is every Sunday), the movies, and bookstores.
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