Sen. Risa Hontiveros (Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) The senator made the statement after presidential spokesperson Harry Roque disclosed the President is handling the country’s disputes with China “in private,” asserting that diplomatic initiatives need not be publicized. However, Hontiveros said it is highly possible that the Chinese government is not taking the Philippine leader seriously during their dialogues. “It would be a good thing if that had been marked by mutual respect,” Hontiveros said in an interview on CNN Philippines’ The Source. “China has opportunistically used the pandemic as a cover to further her excessive ambitions in the whole of the South China Sea,” she said.