FACT CHECK: Hontiveros did not seek Alex Eala endorsement for LGBT advocacy

Claim: Senator Risa Hontiveros asked tennis star Alex Eala to endorse her LGBT advocacy, only to be boldly rebuffed by the athlete.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: Multiple viral posts bearing the claim have been circulating on social media, with some shared by prominent individuals such as social media personality Jay Sonza and political strategist Malou Tiquia.

The posts’ combined traction now exceeds tens of thousands of engagements across several platforms since Tuesday, March 31.

The post claims that Hontiveros supposedly asked Eala to allow the use of her image for LGBT advocacy at upcoming international tournaments. The tennis star allegedly refused the endorsement plea, stressing, “I am an athlete, not a tool for your political agenda.”

The facts: Hontiveros debunked the false claim in a post from her official Facebook account on Wednesday, April 1.

“Stop the lies,” she wrote, adding that no such request for endorsement occurred between her and Eala. She also tagged Meta to address the circulating AI-generated disinformation about her.

Attached to her post are screenshots of Sonza’s and Tiquia’s posts, with the words “kasinungalingan” (lies) and “fake news” overlaid on the images.

Pattern of disinformation: In July 2025, Hontiveros filed a cyber libel complaint against Sonza and several other social media personalities before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). The complaint stemmed from a viral video that accused Hontiveros of bribing and coercing witnesses in the Senate investigation into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC). The senator named Sonza and several others as among those allegedly involved in the video’s upload and the spread of false information.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) later dismissed the complaint against Sonza and other respondents.

However, Sonza, a former broadcaster, remains under fire. On February 16, 2026, the NBI filed a new cyber libel complaint against him and social media personality Eric Celiz for spreading a fake medical report about President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Eala as target of disinformation: This is also not the first time that Eala has been targeted by fake news. Throughout 2025, she was the subject of other fabricated stories, including her supposedly making a speech about the President and allegedly making multimillion-peso donations to victims of calamities in the country.

Eala herself has expressed concern over the rising number of fake posts associated with her name. “It is concerning because I see sometimes they get a lot of likes, and it’s difficult, I understand, to tell the difference when you see it online,” she said in January.

Here are previous claims about Eala that Rappler has debunked:

• FACT CHECK: Photo of Alex Eala statue in QC is AI-generated
• FACT CHECK: No reports of Alex Eala donating P500 million for disaster survivors
• FACT CHECK: No ‘Special Presidential Award’ from Marcos to tennis star Alex Eala
• FACT CHECK: Marcos did not give tennis star Alex Eala $100,000 bonus

– Princess Leah Sagaad/Rappler.com

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