Lawmakers from the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality strongly denounced Quezon City 4th District Representative Bong Suntay’s remarks about actress and television host Anne Curtis, calling them inappropriate and sexist.
In a statement issued Tuesday night, March 3, Laguna 1st District Representative Ann Matibag criticized Suntay’s comments and reiterated the panel’s firm stance of “zero tolerance on misogyny.”
“Mariing kinokondena ng Committee on Women and Gender Equality ang mga pahayag ni Congressman Bong Suntay sa hearing ngayong umaga kaugnay kay Anne Curtis. Hindi ito simpleng biro harmless na komento,” Matibag said.
The committee added: “Ang pagre-reduce sa isang babae bilang object of sexual imagination, lalo na sa isang opisyal na pagdinig, ay tahasang sexist at nakakahiya. Wala itong lugar sa anumang institusyong dapat nagtataguyod ng respeto at propesyonalismo.”
They further stressed: “Public office demands discipline and accountability. Freedom of speech is never a free pass for misogyny. Hindi namin it palalagpasin. Hindi namin ito ino-normalize.”
The controversy erupted during a House Committee on Justice hearing on impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, where Suntay shared a personal anecdote involving Curtis:
“Lastly, alam niyo minsan, nasa Shangri-La ako, nakita ko si Anne Curtis, ang ganda-ganda pala niya. You know, may desire sa loob ko na, nag-init talaga, na-imagine ko na lang kung ano’ng pwedeng mangyari. Pero syempre hanggang imagination na lang ‘yon. Pero ‘di naman siguro ako pwedeng kasuhan kung ano ang na-imagine ko eh,” Suntay said.
His remarks, delivered during Women’s Month, quickly drew backlash from fellow lawmakers and observers.
Despite criticism, Suntay maintained that his statement was neither sexual nor offensive.
“There is nothing sexual do’n sa sinabi ko, nothing immoral, it’s just, I said, may na-imagine ako, I think there is nothing wrong,” he said during the same hearing.