MANILA, Philippines -- Akbayan party-list Representative Risa Hontiveros said on Tuesday that she is running for senator in the May 2010 elections.

Hontiveros, who is serving her second term in the House, is the first party-list representative who has announced plans to seek a seat in the Senate, although there is talk that Representatives Bayan Muna (People First) Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza of Gabriela may also do so.

“Last [Monday] night at my birthday dinner, I have announced that I am running for the Senate,” Hontiveros said in a news conference.

She acknowledged that she will need substantial resources to run a nationwide campaign and that Akbayan is open to forging a coalition with a political party as long as it is not part of the administration.

Although she admitted no party or politician has approached her yet, Hontiveros said she was thankful for those who showed up at her party, such as Senators Manuel Villar, who has confirmed he is running for president, Alan Peter Cayetano, Benigno Aquino III, and Loren Legarda.

Asked why she was seeking a Senate seat, Hontiveros said “all is not well in the party-list system.”

She noted that even if the law requires that party-list representatives should make up 20 percent of the House, this has not been complied with.

She said running for the Senate would be “opening new avenues” for her party-list, adding she plans to introduce “alternative politics” and a “politics of change” to her campaign.

Hontiveros also offered her tongue-in-cheek thanks to Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, with whom she had a recent exchange of words.

The Akbayan solon had asked Santiago to inhibit herself from the investigation of the alleged corruption in World Bank-funded infrastructure projects.

For this, Santiago called Hontiveros “an anonymous little insect, menopausal at that, who just wants publicity for herself for trying to teach the Senate what to do” and suggested that the party-list lawmaker run for the Senate if she wanted senators to listen to her.

”In a way, I have Senator Miriam Santiago to thank…” she said.