2025 wins: Hontiveros declares stronger opposition in Congress

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Senator Risa Hontiveros alludes to the higher number of votes received by the opposition candidates and tells new supporters: 'Welcome. We can do this.'

MANILA, Philippines – It’s a stronger opposition in Congress, Senator Risa Hontiveros said on Tuesday, May 13, after partial, unofficial results pegged the comeback of Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino and Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan in the Senate, and the assured seats of their party lists in the House of Representatives.

“Lumalakas na ang totoong oposisyon sa Senado at Kongreso (The true opposition is gaining strength in the Senate and the House),” Hontiveros said on Tuesday, May 13.

In the last Senate makeup, Hontiveros stood out as the consistent opposition lawmaker as the minority bloc consisted of hazy memberships depending on the latest shakedown in the upper house. Aquino and Pangilinan are expected to solidify their ranks in the Senate.

It’s significant for two things, the most glaring of which would be for the projections of who would vote to convict Vice President Sara Duterte in her upcoming impeachment trial there, where senators will act as judges. Senators allied with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. are seen to be on the convict side, too, for now, although the pieces of that chess board continually evolve.

The other function of closing in the opposition bloc is to ensure checks and balances on the Marcos administration. During the campaign, Pangilinan said that if elected, he would use the Hontiveros model to crack down on rice cartels. Pangilinan said that if Hontiveros’ scrutiny of POGOs (Philippine offshore gaming operators) convinced the President to ban it, then he could do the same on hoarders and other fraudulent actors driving up the prices of food.

“Hindi ito simpleng comeback. Pinapatunayan lamang ng halalang ito na hangad pa rin ng masang Pilipino ang pamahalaang may puso, may prinsipyo, at may tapang manindigan,” said Hontiveros.

(This is not a simple comeback. This elections just proves that Filipinos still want leaders who have heart, principles, and the courage to stand up for what is right.)

Hontiveros is the chairperson of political group Akbayan, who is sure to get a seat in the 20th Congress. First nominee Chel Diokno, a veteran human rights lawyer and staunch critic of Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, will be their representative. Based on projections, former senator Leila de Lima may also get a seat in the House as the first nominee of Mamamayang Liberal. It’s looking like Akbayan will get more seats aside from Diokno’s, and that increases their number in the House.

In her statement, Hontiveros alluded to the higher number of votes received by the opposition candidates. She told new supporters: welcome to our ranks.

“At sa milyon-milyong bagong kasama natin sa laban: maligayang pagdating. Kaya natin ito,” Hontiveros said. (And to the millions of new comrades, welcome. We can do this.)

The progressive Makabayan bloc is looking to be reduced based on partial, unofficial count, but as of 5 pm with 97.29% of votes counted, Act Teachers Party-list and Kabataan Partylist are ranked number 34 and 40, respectively.

Their nominees, activists Antonio Tinio and Renee Co, may have a chance to come back to add more people to the opposition bloc in the House, but that all depends on the final computation. A party-list group needs to secure at least 2% of the total votes cast in order to get a guaranteed one seat. The Commission on Elections, however, can allot seats to groups falling under this threshold to fulfill the 20% requirement in the House.

The political opposition is still fragmented between those allied with the Left and the Liberal Party.

– with reports from Jodesz Gavilan/Rappler.com