MANILA — Women’s rights advocates have filed a formal complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against Quezon City 4th District Rep. Bong Suntay, accusing the lawmaker of violating laws protecting women following his controversial remarks involving actress Anne Curtis during a congressional hearing.
The complaint, filed by members of the World March of Women (WMW)-Pilipinas and allied groups, alleges that Suntay violated the Safe Spaces Act, the Magna Carta of Women, and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials after making statements widely criticized as sexist and inappropriate.
Carrying a banner reading “Hold Misogynists Accountable,” members of WMW-Pilipinas marched to the Ombudsman office to formally submit the complaint days ahead of the March 8 celebration of International Women’s Day.
Among the nine complainants were WMW-Pilipinas national coordinator Jean Enriquez and Joanna Coronacion of the labor group Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO)-Women.
The complaint stemmed from remarks made by Suntay during a House Committee on Justice hearing earlier this week while discussing Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s statement about imagining violence against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
During the hearing, Suntay compared the remark to his own experience of seeing Curtis in public and feeling “desire,” saying he could only “imagine” what might happen.
The statement quickly triggered criticism from women’s groups and other sectors, prompting the lawmaker to issue a public apology the following day.
“Nag-a-apologize ako sa mga taong nasaktan. That analogy should not have been made. If people would want to judge me based from one statement and forget everything I’ve done in public service since 1998, then I cannot fault them,” he said.
“That mistake has been made… May backlash ‘yan. I deserve the backlash,” he added.
Aside from the complaint filed before the Ombudsman, Suntay is also facing a separate ethics complaint in the House of Representatives over the same remarks./PN
