Comelec 2nd Division issues summons vs Pasig bet Ian Sia

The Commission on Elections Second Division has given lawyer Christian "Ian" Sia, who is running for the lone Pasig district representative post in Eleksyon 2025, five days to answer a petition seeking his disqualification in the May 2025 polls over his remarks about single mothers.

“Pursuant to Comelec Resolution No. 11046,1 in relation to Comelec Resolution No. 106732 and pertinent rules of the Commission, respondent is hereby directed to file a verified answer cum memorandum to the Petition for disqualification (with Motion for Suspension of Proclamation Ad Cautelam) dated 16 April 2025, within a non-extendible period of five days from receipt hereof, copy furnished petitioner and with proof of receipt,” the summons dated April 21 reads.

The four-page summons was issued days after the Comelec Task Force SAFE filed a disqualification petition against Sia for allegedly violating the poll body's anti-discrimination rules.

According to the poll body division, Sia may file his response at the Clerk of the Commission personally or through e-mail. However, failure to file the verified answer within the reglementary period “shall bar the respondent from submitting controverting evidence”.

“A motion to dismiss, reply, rejoinder, and similar pleadings are prohibited. Nonetheless, the grounds for a motion to dismiss may be used as affirmative defenses,” it added.

GMA News Online contacted Sia's office to get his comment but has yet to receive a reply.

Last week, the Comelec Task Force SAFE, or Safeguarding Against Fear and Exclusion in Elections, lodged a motu proprio petition against Sia for violating Comelec Resolution 11116 or the Anti-Discrimination and Fair Campaigning Guidelines.

This comes after the Comelec issued two SCOs against Sia for his remarks that single mothers who still have their monthly period and who are lonely may sleep with him once a year, and for his alleged misogynistic remarks against one of his female staff members during a campaign sortie.

The Supreme Court also issued a show cause order last month against Sia amid complaints over his remark about sleeping with single mothers.

This was after the Gabriela National Alliance of Filipino Women filed a letter asking the SC to look into the joke made by Sia about sleeping with single mothers.

Sia has apologized for his statement, but said in his response to the first Comelec SCO that his remarks about single mothers did not violate or discriminate against women and that his "speech, in its entirety, falls within my freedom of speech."

Comelec resolutions

Comelec Resolution 11116 or the Anti-Discrimination and Fair Campaigning Guidelines provides that labeling groups and individuals as terrorists, dissenters, and criminals without evidence is considered an election offense in the 2025 midterm national and local polls.

The resolution also covers acts of bullying and discrimination involving gender, ethnicity, age, religion, and disabilities, among others.

Earlier, the poll body issued Comelec Resolution 11127, which amends Comelec Resolution 11116, to declare all election-related activities and online election-related platforms, including social media, as "safe spaces" for the 2025 national and local elections.

It also now considers child abuse, discrimination, and incitement, immoral doctrines, obscene publications, exhibitions and indecent shows as well as racial discrimination as election offenses. —KG, GMA Integrated News

For more Eleksyon 2025 related content and updates, visit GMA News Online's Eleksyon 2025 microsite.