Lady senators slam House inquiry centered on De Lima-Dayan affair

Two women colleagues of Senator Leila de Lima on Friday slammed the House inquiry that zeroed in on her affair with former driver-bodyguard Ronnie Dayan.

Speaking before a forum organized by the Australia-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce, Sen. Grace Poe tagged Thursday's hearing as "national voyeurism."

"In recent political events, we watched in dismay and anger as powerful male leaders uttered derogatory pronouncements objectifying and ridiculing women," Poe said.

"Just yesterday, during a congressional investigation, a lot of the questions were geared towards voyeurism—national voyeurism as opposed to 'in aid of legislation.' And this is quite upsetting," she added.

"We understand that a lot of things have to be investigated, but I think that the details of certain personal affairs should not have been discussed," she went on.

For her part, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said the House of Representatives "hit a lowest of the low" with Thursday's hearing.

"It was not an investigation in aid of legislation. It was a public lynching in aid of misogyny and sexism," said Hontiveros, a former party-list representative.

"The intention was clear. Members of the committee were grossly unparliamentary. Their derogatory line of questioning did not aim to shed light on the issue of the drug trade in our prisons. They were meant to humiliate and shame Senator De Lima for her association with a certain man, or her past relationship," she added.

Hontiveros said it was "shameful" that the stolons at Thursday's hearing "made the shaming of women a political strategy and a spectacle in the 'honorable' chambers of Congress." 

She also called on the lower chamber,  especially to House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, "to reign in its members and stop them from resorting to sexist and misogynistic attacks against another elected public official."

"If they are confident that they have real and tangible evidence against Senator De Lima, then let the evidence speak for itself. That is the only way for the Lower House to recover from this plunge into new and unparalleled lows," she added. 

Earlier, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said the House cannot dictate them about what to do with De Lima.

This came after the House committee on justice issued a show cause order against De Lima, following the testimony of her former driver-bodyguard Ronnie Dayan and his daughter, Hannah Mae, saying the senator asked him to snub the House inquiry on the proliferation of drugs at the New Bilibid Prison, despite a subpoena issued against him. 

During the hearing, Rep. Harry Roque also called on the Senate to "remove" De Lima from office to "maintain the integrity of the institution." — Amita Legaspi/RSJ, GMA News