Palace urges end to culture of objectifying women

Malacañang on Wednesday called on the public to end the culture of objectifying women, amid a controversial remark by Quezon City Rep. Bong Suntay on actress Anne Curtis.

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro described Suntay's comments as a sexual innuendo that could potentially violate the law under the Safe Spaces Act.

"Let us end the culture of objectifying women. Ang kababaihan ay ginagabayan, inaangat, ginagalang, at hindi dapat gawing paksa ng malaswang pagpapantasya na ipinagmamalaki pa sa publiko," she said.

(Women are to be guided, uplifted, and respected, not made the subject of lewd fantasies proudly displayed in public.)

Castro clarified that while imagining or fantasizing about a woman in one’s mind is not a crime, publicly voicing such fantasies constitutes a sexual innuendo.

“Unang-una po, ang pag-i-imagine o pagpapantasya sa isang babae kung ito ay nasa isip lamang, hindi natin masasabing ito’y krimen,” she said.

(First of all, imagining or fantasizing about a woman, if it only exists in one’s mind, cannot be considered a crime.)

“The mere fact that it was said in public, to the public, regarding a particular person, is already covered by the Safe Spaces Act. We cannot say there is no crime since he even publicly boasted about his fantasies,” Castro added.

Enacted in 2019, the Safe Spaces Act, also known as the “Bawal Bastos” Law, penalizes gender-based sexual harassment in streets, public spaces, online, workplaces, and schools.

The controversy arose after Suntay verbalized his apparent desire for Curtis during proceedings on the pending impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte.

He defended his comments as a form of analogy and argued they were not criminal, citing his defense of Duterte’s remark about skipping the July 2024 State of the Nation Address as the “designated survivor.”

Suntay also said of Curtis: “Alam niyo minsan, minsan nasa Shangri-La ako, nakita ko si Anne Curtis, ang ganda-ganda pala niya… nag-init talaga, na-imagine ko na lang kung ano’ng pwedeng mangyari pero siyempre hanggang imagination na lang ‘yon. Pero ‘di naman siguro ako pwedeng kasuhan kung ano ang na-imagine ko eh.”

(One time, I saw Anne Curtis and she was so beautiful. I felt desire, I imagined what could happen, but it stayed in my imagination. Surely I cannot be charged for what I imagined.)

This prompted House Justice Committee vice chairperson Ysabel Maria Zamora to move to strike Suntay’s comments off the record, which was approved by a vote.

On Wednesday, Suntay apologized to Curtis but maintained that his remarks were uttered in the form of an analogy.

Asked if she was personally offended, Castro said she was offended for all women.

“Dapat pa bang ipagpasalamat na ang lalake ay nag-iisip nang malaswa sa iyong pagkababae? Nagkataon lamang siguro na siya ay nakasuot ng suit, nakaharap sa isang mic at may titulo bago sa kaniyang pangalan,” she said.

(Should we be thankful that a man is thinking lasciviously about your womanhood? Perhaps it’s just coincidence that he was wearing a suit, in front of a microphone, and held a title.)

She added: “Kung nagkataon na ang lalakeng ito ang nagsalita ay nasa isang kanto, nakahubad at sinabihan ang isang babaeng naglalakad na ‘ini-imagine ko kung anong ginagawa ko sa iyo kasi ang ganda mo,’ magkaiba ba iyon kung ordinaryong tao ang gagawa o ang tao ay supposed to be isang honorable?”

(If this had been said by a man on the street, shirtless, telling a passing woman, ‘I’m imagining what I’d do to you because you’re beautiful,’ would it be any different from someone who is supposed to be honorable?)—MCG, GMA Integrated News