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