Comelec orders Davao de Oro guv bet to explain vulgar remarks during rallies

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has issued a show cause order against Davao de Oro Rep. and gubernatorial candidate Ruwel Peter Gonzaga asking him to explain his comments on women and their private parts during campaign rallies.

In the show cause order, the poll body cited the statements made by Gonzaga in various campaign stops wherein he talked about women being skilled in sex and a widow’s private part.

He had also asked a council member to kiss a woman in the lips, and said that he wants to have sex with his wife.

The show cause order said the utterances and/or acts constitute possible violations of Comelec Resolution No. 11116 or the Anti-Discrimination and Fair Campaigning Guidelines for the May 2025 National and Local Elections. 

"You are hereby ordered to show cause in writing within a non-extendible period of three days from receipt hereof and to explain why a complaint for election offense and/ or a petition for disqualification should not be filed against you," the Comelec said.

Ahead of the Comelec's issuance of the show cause order, Mamamayang Liberal (ML) party-list first nominee and former senator Leila de Lima urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to take action against his Partido Federal ng Pilipinas party-mate Gonzaga.

“Women are not ornaments, not props, not punchlines. We are leaders, builders, advocates. We deserve better—and we will demand better. His sexist 'jokes' are not merely inappropriate—they are symptomatic of a broken political culture that continues to treat women as objects, not as equal citizens,” De Lima said.

“I call on Rep. Gonzaga to issue a public apology—not just to the women he disrespected, but to all Filipinos who believe in a politics anchored on respect, fairness, and human dignity. I also call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as leader of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, to discipline his party-mate. As the administration party, PFP must set a good example,” she added.

De Lima also called on the leadership of the House of Representatives to take action against Gonzaga.

“Our institutions must not be safe spaces for bigotry. If Congress allows this behavior to go unchallenged, it sets a dangerous precedent: that in politics, sexism is acceptable, and women are dispensable,” she said.

“Reform means changing the systems that allow this kind of behavior to persist. We cannot achieve either if we stay silent,” she added. 

Akbayan party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña said, “Leadership begins on the campaign trail. If you resort to demeaning jokes now, it’s a sign of how you will govern later. Kung bastos ka mangampanya, bastos mo pamamahalaan ang mga tao.''

(If you are obscene and rude during the campaign period, you will govern the same way once you get elected.)

"We understand that candidates want to make their speeches lively and memorable, but crude, sexist humor has no place in our politics. Let's start our gender sensitivity and inclusive policies in campaign sorties," he added.

Cendaña cited the Bawal Bastos Law or Safe Spaces Act authored by opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros, which penalizes gender-based harassment in public spaces, workplaces, schools, and online platforms—including catcalling, wolf-whistling, and sexist or homophobic slurs that cause harm and discrimination.

"Sexist remarks have real consequences. It’s time to end them and uphold respect and dignity in our elections," Cendaña said. —AOL/VBL, GMA Integrated News

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