Akbayan Party-list has thrown its formal support behind Senator Risa Hontiveros for the 2028 presidential race, citing what it described as a deepening governance crisis and a public hunger for principled leadership.
The party framed its endorsement around the qualities it believes Hontiveros embodies — integrity, competence, and a clear set of principles — arguing that millions of Filipinos weighed down by fatigue, hardship, and disappointment are actively looking for a leader who reflects those values.
Akbayan said it recognizes a groundswell of calls for Hontiveros to seek the country’s highest office, and expressed confidence that she is ready to carry the democratic opposition’s banner into the next national elections. The party described her as someone who holds firm to her positions and does not yield to pressure from powerful interests.
Hontiveros has previously said she is open to a presidential run in 2028, though she has been careful to attach a condition to that openness: the opposition, she has stressed, must unite behind a single standard-bearer. Her emphasis on a consolidated opposition candidacy signals that she views the broader movement’s coherence as inseparable from any individual bid.
Akbayan’s declaration arrives as political groups are already in early discussions about the shape and direction of the opposition ahead of the 2028 cycle. While the party has staked out a clear position, the question of a unified opposition candidate remains unresolved — an issue Hontiveros herself has placed at the center of any conversation about her potential campaign.
