3 weeks ago
11
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Jean Mangaluz - Philstar.com
March 4, 2026 | 12:28pm
MANILA, Philippines — Rep. Bong Suntay (Quezon City, 4th District) has earned the ire of several politicians and public figures over his “repulsive” remarks on actress-host Anne Curtis.
Suntay’s controversial comment stemmed from the House justice panel’s hearing on Tuesday, March 3, on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte. Suntay was using his imagination as an analogy to justify the vice president imagining harming President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
During the hearing, Suntay said he saw Curtis once and felt his “desire” heating up.
Rep Ysabel Maria J. Zamora (San Juan) moved to have his comments stricken from the record, saying that this failed to empower women. Her motion was approved.
Nonetheless, Suntay’s comments went viral.
The House Committee on Women and Gender Equality slammed Suntay’s remarks, saying that this was not a simple joke.
“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 profesionalismo,” the women and gender quality panel chair Rep. Ann Matibag (Laguna, 1st District) said.
(Reducing a woman as an object of sexual imagination, especially in an official hearing, is sexist and shameful. This does not have a place in any institution that upholds respect and professionalism.)
In a separate statement, Rep. Sarah Elago (Gabriela Partylist) said that Suntay must apologize. Such comments, she said, may have real-life consequences for women who are vulnerable to abuse and discrimination.
“The toxic mentality that sexist comments should be taken as a ‘compliment’ has long been used to normalize harassment, justify abuse, and silence women,” Elago said.
Republic Act 11313, or the Safe Spaces Act, signed into law in 2019, penalizes gender-based sexual harassment in government institutions, including sexist remarks made by persons in authority.
Senate reaction
Suntay’s comments also reached the halls of the Senate.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, chair of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, urged Suntay to apologize.
“Rep. Bong Suntay must apologize and make the necessary amends to Ms. Anne Curtis. There is absolutely no excuse for his repulsive remarks,” Hontiveros said.
“As we celebrate Women’s Month, this incident is a reminder that advancing women’s dignity and basic respect is continuous work; work that must be asserted, defended, and reaffirmed, again and again,” she added.
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte also called upon her colleague to apologize. She said that it was disappointing to see Suntay’s “casual display of objectification” during Women’s Month.
“His words directly contradict the spirit of empowerment that we have worked hard to build here in Quezon City,” Belmonte said.
Several celebrities have also slammed Suntay. Curtis’ sister, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, was quick to come to her defense.
“This moment is not about one female celebrity. It is about how ALL WOMEN, regardless of profession, continue to be reduced to bodies in spaces dominated by men in power,” Curtis-Smith said.
Suntay initially doubled down on his comments, saying that Curtis should take it as a compliment. He later issued an apology but said he stood by his statements.
“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 in an interview with DZMM.
