UP ALYANSA, with BUKLOD CSSP and AKBAYAN Youth, have successfully concluded the "Uphold STRAW" forum at Palma Hall on September 3, 2010. Former Rep. Risa Hontiveros of Akbayan Partylist was the event's keynote speaker. This well-attended forum discussed the advocacy for a Student Rights and Welfare Bill to be passed in Congress.
In line with this advocacy, UP ALYANSA is part of the Student Rights and Welfare Coalition, a broad alliance which includes the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (SCAP) and the Movement for the Advancement of Student Power (MASP).
Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel is a Filipino activist, journalist, and politician who served as the party-list representative of the Akbayan Citizens' Action Party to the Philippines' House of Representatives. 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.
