MANILA — Quezon City 4th District’s Cong. Bong Suntay issued a public apology Wednesday after drawing criticism for a remark involving actress-host Anne Curtis during a House justice committee hearing, even as he defended the statement as a mere analogy meant to illustrate a legal point.
Suntay made the apology in a radio interview following backlash over his comment during the March 3 hearing, where he cited Curtis while discussing whether imagined thoughts or statements without actual actions could be grounds for criminal or impeachable liability.
“I stand by that analogy that I made but if some people were offended, lalo na Women’s Month, I’m sorry for those who were offended but if you read the context talaga, there was nothing malicious in it,” Suntay said. “Depende kung bibigyan ng malice ng nagbasa…Pasensiya na po. To make it appear offensive was not the intention.”
The congressman came under fire after recounting during the hearing that he once imagined having “desires” after seeing Curtis, a statement that some lawmakers and observers described as inappropriate.
“Alam mo, 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 ang pwedeng mangyari. Pero syempre, hanggang imagination na lang ‘yon. Hindi naman siguro ako pwedeng kasuhan dahil kung anu-ano ‘yong na-imagine ko,” Suntay said during the hearing.
Suntay later explained that the example was intended to support his argument that imagined thoughts alone should not be considered criminal acts or impeachable offenses without concrete actions.
He linked the analogy to a previous statement by Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio in which she said she wanted to cut off the head of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., arguing that the remark should likewise be viewed as an expression made in imagination rather than a literal threat.
Despite the controversy, Suntay reiterated that his example was purely hypothetical and clarified that he had never personally met Curtis.
“I stand by it. Ang ganda-ganda pala niya. Pero hanggang doon na lang. Ang punto ko lang na I wanted to drive at – something that you imagine, something that you desire, ano ‘yan, it is not an impeachable offense if there were no overt acts, which was done,” he said.
He added that statements can easily be misinterpreted when taken out of context.
“Ang punto ko, a lot of people they take a statement out of context kasi that analogy was made sa one of the articles in the complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte… Ang imagination ba – is it an impeachable offense or a criminal offense? Kaya ako gumawa ng analogy,” he said.
Suntay has also faced criticism from some quarters for appearing to defend the Vice President during discussions on complaints filed against her, including allegations involving the distribution of cash envelopes to officials of the Department of Education./PN
