Defeated LP senatorial bet may get executive post

A post in the executive department may await a defeated candidate who ran under President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino's Liberal Party last May. Former Akbayan party-list Rep. Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel said Monday she may get a post once the one-year ban on appointing bets lapses. "(Itatakda) niya akong gumawa ng isang trabaho sa executive. Hindi ko alam kung ano po yan (He may assign me to a post in the executive department. But as of now I don't know what the exact post is)," she said in an interview on dzXL radio. The law bans the appointment of candidates who ran in an election for at least one year. Baraquel, 44, ran for senator under the LP last May but fell short of joining the Magic 12. She was known for advocating issues on human rights and women and gender equality. While in the House of Representatives, she was a member of the minority for the committees on appropriations, ethics and privileges, health, higher and technical education, human rights, natural resources, peace reconciliation and unity, people participation, population and family relations, rules, and women and gender equality. During the LP's miting de avance last May 7, she was rushed to a hospital while in the middle of a speech, and was found to have a torn ligament in her right knee. Her website pointed out she made her mark in national politics when the police illegally arrested her at the height of the "Hello Garci" scandal in 2005. She endorsed the impeachment of then President Gloria Arroyo several times, and faced harassment from the government. "She has not received her pork barrel since 2005, a ‘badge of honor’ for this fiery congresswoman," her website said. Baraquel also became active in the peace movement and served as the Secretary General of the Coalition for Peace and member of the government panel in the peace talks with the National Democratic Front. She was given the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Award for Peace Advocacy in 2001. - RJAB Jr/KBK, GMANews.TV