As my second blog post for the week, you might recognize that this week’s theme is prominent supporters of the Reproductive Health Bill. I wanted to do a week-long post about these supporters because I personally look up to them. This is for the reason that no matter how people constantly criticize them, they never stopped fighting for that they believe in and they still continue to support the passing of the RH Bill into a law. These supporters come from different backgrounds, but they all come together to achieve one goal towards the RH Bill. For today’s blog entry, I would like to discuss one of the more famous supporter of the RH Bill, Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel.
Born on February 24, 1966, Ana Theresia Hontiveros is a Filipino politician, activist, and journalist. As a politician and activist, Risa Hontiveros is currently serving her second term as the party-list representative of the Akbayan Citizens’ Action Party. She has been serving the House of Representatives since 2004. As a journalist, Risa Hontiveros has served the industry for ten years. Because of her contributions to the world of media, she is a proud recipient of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas’ (KBP) Golden Dove Award for Best Female Newscaster. Her sister, Pia Hontiveros, is also and outstanding journalist. As the saying goes, “it runs in the family.” She is married to Francisco Baraquel Jr. (deceased), and they had four children together. Risa Hontiveros, though a well-know politician and journalist, never really started in that field. She used to be a stage performer when she was still little, having worked with Lea Salonga, another supporter of the RH Bill, in a Philippine loca production of the Sound of Music. They both played the roles of one of the Von Trapp children.
As a known feminist in the Philippines, Risa Hontiveros, among her other works, has been always known to fight for women rights in the country. She was always featured in news and television reports for she is always seen fighting and protesting along with other groups that fight for women rights. So when the RH Bill came about, she was one of the first famous people to support this bill. For her, RH Bill is pro-chance. But Risa Hontiveros became even more popular with her support of the RH Bill when she was mentioned in that infamous rant of a priest in a Catholic Church in Baguio City. In that ill-famed tirade by that priest, he extended his usual mass by “preaching” the people why the RH Bill is wrong and bad. He had this never-ending speech, and Risa Hontiveros was mentioned out of the blue just because she supports the RH Bill, while that priest was against it. This tirade resulted to a lot of Church-goers to walk out, especially those who support the RH Bill. Risa Hontiveros is just one of the many people who support the RH Bill, but why does this particular priest attacking her because of her views?
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