Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel

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 to the Philippines' House of Representatives 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 also earned a Nobel peace prize nomination for her work as chair the Government Panel's Reciprocal Working Committee on Socio-Economic Reforms in the Peace Talks with the National Democratic Front from 1998 to 1999. She is the older sister of Journalist and Television Host Pia Hontiveros.
She has raised her profile in the UK, by making a formal complaint about a popular satirical British TV show Harry & Paul. This allegedly "racist" sketch depicts a wealthy southerner (played by Harry Enfield) who keeps a poor lethargic northerner (played by Paul Whitehouse) as a pet. This poor northerner is encouraged to mount the southerner's Filipina maid. Risa Hontiveros described the September episode of Harry & Paul as "revolting and disgusting". This is only one of a series of sketches during the show's run in which Harry is seen to treat Paul's character as a dog or other family pet as an example how class and the north/south divide devalues anyone of a lower social status, be they northern or ethnic domestic staff

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:
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
Source:wikipedia