Reelectionist Senator Risa Hontiveros filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) for senator on Friday, Oct. 1.

An advocate of women’s rights, gender equality, and health, Hontiveros is the current national chairperson of Akbayan Partylist.

Hontiveros told reporters that she is hoping that the opposition will forge a united front come the May 2022 elections.

"Kahit na marami na opposition ang magfile at tumakbo, umaasa ako na darating din ang sandali, kahit panahon na ng kampanya, na magbuo parin sila ng united front (Although many oppositions will file and run, I hope that the time will come, even during the campaign period, when they will still form a united front),” she said.

“Bakit? Para wakasan na ang Dutertismo. Para i-ahon na talaga sa isang propisyonal at epektibong paraan ang ating bansa sa pandemya at i-ahon ang ating mga kababayan sa resesyong ito (Why? To end Dutertismo. To really lift our country out of the pandemic in a professional and effective way and lift our countrymen out of this recession),” she added.

Hontiveros has been a staunch critic of the Duterte Administration’s war on drugs campaign and the re-imposition of the death penalty. She also opposed the burial of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Some of the measures she passed are the Philippine Mental Health Law, the Expanded Maternity Leave Law, the Universal Healthcare Law, the Safe Streets and Public Spaces Law, and the the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program Law, among others.

Before her time in the Senate, Hontiveros served as a member of the House of Representatives as an Anakbayan representative from 2004 to 2010.

In the Congress, she worked for the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) Law, a landmark measure which provides women and families access to reproductive health and modern family planning services.

She was also one of the principal authors of the Cheaper Medicines Law, and one of the key sponsors of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program with Extension and Reform (CARPER) Law.

The 55-year-old lawmaker is graduate of Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in Social Sciences.

Before she was a lawmaker, Hontiveros was a community organizer and peace advocate, as well as a television journalist and news anchor.