Can you imagine a Senate without Risa Hontiveros?

The best man in the Philippine Senate is a woman, and what a woman! There is only one senator who has the fearless guts and grit of Miriam Defensor Santiago and Leila de Lima, the brilliance of Claro M. Recto and Jovito Salonga, the integrity of Jose W. Diokno and Lorenzo Tañada and the boldness of Nene Pimentel and Ninoy Aquino. Risa is not a lawyer but she outshines many lawyers like Pia Cayetano, Alan Cayetano, Chiz Escuudero, and Koko Pimentel. To put it bluntly, Risa alone has the "balls".

In the last Senate investigation on October 28, it was Risa alone who stood to defend the rights, interests and welfare of the people. Single-handedly, Risa pinned Duterte and pushed him to the wall and bombarded him with very difficult questions, the latter became rattled and asked for a suspension of the barrage of questions. After the recess, Duterte became a meek lamb asking for apology for his raised voice and pitch and his invectives and indecent language. Koko Pimentel was trying hard to appear neutral but his neutrality amounted to an endorsement of the incriminating admissions against interests made by Duterte. Only Risa defended the people.

The people cannot expect protection from the dangerous policies of the Duterte drug war from some senators who don’t deserve reelection. The Filipino voters should fire them come 2025 mid-term polls. The worst part was that of Robinhood Padilla who admitted he was an ex-convict who served time in Muntinlupa. Neither could we expect anything from Senator Jinggoy, whose hands are not totally clean. Tolentino is the ultimate balimbing. He was an avid Duterte adherent not too long ago, but today, he is a rabid BBM senatorial bet.

Duterte came to the Senate with a large contingent of his former Cabinet members. He was making pagmumura and only Risa was courageous enough to call him out. Risa calls on presiding chair Koko to restrain the former president just as they used to control all other resource persons. But Koko seemed to have been intimidated by his fellow Mindanaoan, who grabbed PDP from his control. I miss Koko's more fearless dad, Nene, who had the balls of a roaring tiger. I miss Trillanes, Gordon, Diokno, Salonga and, of course, Ninoy Aquino.

Today's Senate is dominated by trapos, who are not really in public office to promote the well-being of Filipinos. Many of them are there to protect their business empire, to monopolize and control political power, and have a direct hand in the allocation of public funds and corner huge budgetary allocations, and influence the president in his appointments to juicy and sensitive positions in government, including the judiciary, the prosecution, the armed forces, the police, Customs, Internal Revenue, and Immigration.

For instance, if we need to call a spade a spade, can we expect the two Villars in the Senate, mother and son, to protect the farmers and the agricultural sector when the rubber hits the road, so to say, for instance, when the business interests of the Villar business empires clash in conflict with the rights and interests of farmers? That is why my group and my family members and relatives are not voting for Camille in the coming Senate race. Aside from the fact that we believe she has nothing constructive to contribute, her election shall exacerbate family dynasties.

As for characters like Robinhood Padilla, Lito Lapid, Bong Revilla, and even Jinggoy, we cannot expect these kinds of senators to stand up for the people against the braggadocio and the bravado of former president Duterte. Digong was banging his fist on the table, he was raising his voice, he was mouthing bad words and unprintable expletives before the honorable members of the Senate. The former president didn’t show respect for the Senate, and the committee chair didn’t restrain, much less reprimand him, just like what they used to do to all other lesser mortals who appeared as witnesses. Only Risa stood up to defend the integrity of the Senate.

I cannot imagine a Philippine Senate without this singular "breath of fresh air" in Philippine politics, which has become a virtual "catacomb of stench and decay". I cannot imagine this Senate without Senator Risa Hontiveros. She is stronger morally than all the other senators combined.

I hope Risa Hontiveros will run for president in 2028. She has more guts than Leni Robredo. And Risa is now a shining star, compared to the fallen angel called Sara Duterte.