HONTIVEROS ASKS: WAS POLITICAL INFIGHTING A FACTOR IN ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN? WATCH: On Day 1 of the Senate budget debates, finance committee chairman Win Gatchalian cited recent storms and a construction slowdown - stemming from the flood control controversy - as key reasons for the third-quarter economic slowdown. “Politics is not part of it,” Gatchalian said. Sen. Risa Hontiveros, however, said the breakup of the “UniTeam” and the resulting political instability surely had effects on the economy.