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Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
June 17, 2026 | 4:00pm
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday, June 17, addressed the viral "#WinRi" trend pairing her with Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian hours after she cast one of the 13 votes that installed him as Senate president.
She attributed the win to Gatchalian himself, whom the majority had been lobbying to elect since a leadership row broke out in the chamber.
"Senate President Gatchalian is strong on his own merits," Hontiveros said. "Lahat kami sa majority really fought para mahalal namin siya ngayong araw." (All of us in the majority really fought to get him elected today.)
She thanked her supporters whose interest in the pairing had pulled them into following the work of the Senate.
"Kung may mga kababayan tayo na natutuwa sa akin, kay Senate president, at dahil doon mas interesado sila sa trabaho namin at trabaho buong Senate, nagpapasalamat ako sa kanila," she said.
(If there are Filipinos who are happy for me and the Senate president, and because of that became more interested in our work and the work of the whole Senate, I thank them.)
"Hello sa Winners," she added, using the term fans of the pairing have coined for themselves, a play on "WinRi."
Gatchalian weeks ago said his pairing with Hontiveros was an honor, while brushing off speculation about a 2028 election tandem with her.
Gatchalian elected
Earlier Wednesday, Gatchalian was nominated by Majority Leader Migz Zubiri during a special session called by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and elected unanimously by the 13 senators present, settling a long-running row with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, who was removed on June 3.
Hontiveros was part of the 12-senator bloc that on June 3 declared all Senate positions vacant and installed Gatchalian as acting Senate president, a move the Cayetano camp refused to recognize even after Malacañang recognized Gatchalian.
She voted again Wednesday alongside Zubiri, Vicente Sotto III, Panfilo Lacson, Francis Pangilinan, Bam Aquino, JV Ejercito, Chiz Escudero, Raffy Tulfo, Erwin Tulfo, Lito Lapid and Joel Villanueva, whose arrival provided the crucial 13th vote.
Sotto was elected Senate president pro tempore.
Legislative allies. Hontiveros and Gatchalian were both first elected to the Senate in 2016 and have closely collaborated on legislative work over the years.
Their highest-profile tandem was the four-year Senate probe into Philippine offshore gaming operators, with Hontiveros chairing the lead inquiry under the Senate women and children panel.
