The Manila Times

Is love in the air at the Senate? Netizens ship '#WinRi'

MANILA, Philippines — Two senators in the so-called "new majority" are trending on social media not for their legislative work but because netizens have decided to ship them. Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian and Sen. Risa Hontiveros are trending both on X and TikTok as #WinRi and a dedicated page, @WinRiOFC, was even started Thursday night. “Ship responsibly. Para sa bayan (For the nation),” according to the page that even featured several photos and videos of the two senators. Other netizens also "shipped" Gatchalian and Hontiveros,calling them fur-parents because of their love for dogs “We saw it in PBB (Pinoy Big Brother). We saw it in the UAAP. We’re seeing it now in the PVL-PBA. And now we're about to see it in the Senate? Maybe our culture is really fond of love teams whether we want to admit it or not,” X user @nicoquijano wrote. “What if… Senator Win Gatchalian and Senator Risa Hontiveros, there’s nothing wrong, because they’re both single and available, let’s push #WinRi,” wrote the Facebook page The Truth PH. Both senators were known to have led the committee that investigated the Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGOs), which included the case of former Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo. On Wednesday, Gatchalian was named Senate President Pro Tempore after the then minority staged its own coup with the defection of Sen. Francis Escudero from the former majority, led by Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano. The "new majority," 12 of them, then declared all committee chairmanships vacant, including the position of the Senate president, but refrained from naming a scuccessor because the required 13 votes under Senate rules was not met.