Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel (born Ana Theresia Hontiveros), is a Filipino activist, journalist, and politician who is serving her second term as the party-list representative of the Akbayan Citizens' Action Party

Akbayan Citizens' Action Party

The Akbayan Citizens' Action Party or AKBAYAN is a registered national political party representing marginalized sectors in the Philippines. Akbayan first participated in the partylist elections in the House of Representatives in the 1998 National Elections and won one seat. The first...

 to the Philippines' House of Representatives

House of Representatives of the Philippines

The House of Representatives of the Philippines is the lower chamber of the...

 since 2004. Having served as a journalist for ten years before venturing into politics, she is a recipient of the Kapisanan ng Mga Broadkaster ng Pilipinas' Golden Dove Award for Best Female Newscaster. She is the older sister of Journalist and Television Host Pia Hontiveros

Pia Hontiveros

Pia Hontiveros-Pagkalinawan is a Filipino media personality associated working ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, She was Born March 10, 1967 in Manila, Philippines, where she serves as Political Correspondent and as host of the television shows Shop Talk, Top Story, and Strictly Politics on the...

.

She has raised her profile in the UK, by making a formal complaint about a popular satirical British TV show Harry & Paul. A purportedly "racist" sketch depicts a wealthy southerner (played by Harry Enfield

Harry Enfield

Henry Richard "Harry" Enfield is a BAFTA-winning English comedian, actor, writer and director.-Early life:...

) who keeps a poor lethargic northerner (played by Paul Whitehouse

Paul Whitehouse

Paul Whitehouse is a Welsh actor, writer and comedian. He became known for his work with Harry Enfield and as one of the stars of the popular BBC sketch show, The Fast Show. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was in the top 50 comedy acts voted for by comedians and comedy insiders...

) as a pet. The northerner is encouraged to mount the southerner's Filipina maid. Hontiveros described the September episode of Harry & Paul as "revolting and disgusting"; however, this is only one of a series of politically subversive sketches during the show's run in which Whitehouse's character is treated as a pet of some sort.

Political and Activist Affiliations

In Hontiveros-Baraquel's career as a politician and activist, she has been affiliated with a number of organizations and movements, including the following:

• Coalition for Peace (served as Secretary-General from 1988 to 1992)
• National Peace Conference (serving on its Governing Council since 1990).
• Government Panel for Peace Talks with the National Democratic Front (chairing the Panel's Reciprocal Working Committee on Socio-Economic Reforms from August 1998 to June 1999)
• Pandayan para sa Sosyalistang Pilipinas (Pandayan/Forge for a Socialist Philippines), a democratic socialist political organization (re-elected as Chairperson In August 2001)
• Pilipina, a socialist feminist organization
• Amnesty International Pilipinas (member of the Board of Directors)
• Institute for Politics and Governance
• Akbayan-Citizens Action Party (Executive Committee member)

Current Committee Memberships

Hontiveros-Baraquel currently serves as a member for the House Minority of the following Committees of the 14th Congress

14th Congress of the Philippines

The Fourteenth Congress of the Philippines was the national legislature of the Republic of the Philippines, composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives...

:

• Appropriations
• Ethics and Privileges
• Foreign Affairs
• Good Government and Public Accountability
• Health
• Higher and Technical Education
• Human Rights
• Natural Resources
• Peace, Reconciliation and Unity
• People Participation
• Rules
• Trade and Industry
• Women and Gender Equality

Sources