Stronger minority seen with Kiko, Bam comebacks

February 27, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros is optimistic that the comeback bids of Kiko Pangilinan and Bam Aquino will help strengthen her single-member minority bloc in the 20th Congress as Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel retires from the Senate.

Pimentel, her current partner in the bloc, is stepping down from his Senate position to pursue a district seat in Marikina, leaving Hontiveros as the lone voice in the minority for the time being.

“They are going against well-known and well-funded names who are ahead of them in surveys. But we will continue fighting and it will be worth fighting for,” Hontiveros said during the Kapihan sa Senado yesterday.

“My wish is for the minority to get bigger. There are only two. And I don’t plan on being alone in the 20th Congress,” she added.

Pangilinan, a Liberal Party candidate, and Aquino, of the Katipunan ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino, are still outside the “Magic 12” winning circle, according to the latest Social Weather Stations survey conducted from Feb. 15 to 19.

Pangilinan placed 15th with 22 percent, while Aquino ranked 17th with 16 percent.

As part of their ongoing campaign efforts, both Pangilinan and Aquino have been actively engaging with various sectors to address key issues.

Aquino, for his part, met with the fisherfolk in Calamba City, Laguna, where he stressed the importance of supporting the agriculture and fisheries sector.

Pangilinan, meanwhile, had a dialogue with the Philippine Councilors League in Occidental Mindoro.

Pangilinan said he hopes to court the “protest vote” from those dissatisfied with the administration’s policies and frustrated with the infighting between President Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte.

“While I and Bam are just a tandem, and there are many others, there is such a thing as a protest vote. The ones who promised unity are the ones fighting. It is saddening. In the meantime, we will campaign on issues close to the people – prices of food and goods, education, and job security,” Pangilinan said in a chance interview after his talk with the Rotary Club in Makati on Tuesday.

Thailand travel scam

Meanwhile, Hontiveros raised alarm yesterday over a human trafficking ring that targets prospective travelers to Thailand by posing as a travel agency.

She said syndicates have been using social media to recruit Filipinos for overseas jobs, only for them to be tortured and forced to work in scam farms.

The senator cited the case of repatriated Filipinos who were rescued by authorities in Myanmar after being deceived into working at scam hubs – a scheme similar to the now-banned Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGOs).

“POGOs have morphed into smaller, guerrilla-like operations, using travel ads as a new modus to lure Filipinos. These individuals sign up, believing they are traveling for leisure, but end up being recruited into scam operations,” she said.

“These syndicates have already victimized Filipinos. Twelve were rescued from Myanmar, and one of them was raped by their Chinese boss. We see the gender dimension in this scam,” she added.