De Lima: VP Sara’s ‘silence’ on allies’ recent remarks about women speaks volumes

House Deputy Minority Leader Leila de Lima on Monday remarked on Vice President Sara Duterte's apparent silence about comments made by a lawmaker on her behalf that made reference to his desire for an actress.

"There is a kind of leader who does not talk, but her silence effectively disrespects women while diminishing her own office. She keeps quiet, yet her silence already speaks volumes, kahit siya mismo ay babae, kahit siya mismo ang pangalawang pinakamataas na opisyal ng ating bansa, sa gitna ng lantaran at tahasang pambabastos sa kababaihan [even though she herself is a woman, even though she is the second highest official in the nation, amid this brazen and direct disrespect of women]," De Lima said in a privilege speech.

"In the particular cases of Congressman Suntay and Attorney [Ferdinand] Topacio, we know that their remarks were uttered in light of the impeachment complaint against the Vice President herself,”  she added.

Last week, Quezon City Fourth District Representative Bong Suntay defended Duterte's remark about skipping the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July 2024 as the self-appointed "designated survivor" by likening it to seeing Anne Curtis and feeling "desire" for her.

His remarks were struck from the record and sparked outrage among officials, women's groups, Malacañang, Suntay's own wife, and Curtis herself, who refused to accept Suntay's apology.

Topacio, meanwhile, defended Suntay and said that women like Curtis invited such attention by posting "bikini pictures."

“Yan siguro ang paraan nila ng pagdepensa kay VP Sara. Gets po natin ‘yan kahit bastos sila. Ang hindi natin gets ay kung bakit si VP Sara ay naaatim na manahimik kahit inaalipusta na ang mga babaeng gaya niya. Dahil ba sa kakakampi niya ang nagsalita? Dahil ba ang mga sinabi ay sa konteksto ng pagtatanggol sa kanya? Isn't the dignity of women far more important to her than personal or partisan interests? Katulad din ba ito ng pananahimik ni VP Sara sa pananakop ng China sa ilang bahagi ng West Philippine Sea?” de Lima added.

(Maybe, that is their [Topacio and Suntay] way of defending the Vice President. We get that they are lewd, but what we don't get is why the Vice President is staying silent when her fellow women are being degraded. Is it because it is her allies who made such statements? Is it because the statements were made in the context of defending her? Is this like her silence on Chinese aggression in West Philippine Sea?)

De Lima, however, said such silence from the Vice President is no surprise considering that she openly admitted to arranging for President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. to be killed if she dies, in an expletive-filled video.

“Saan na napunta ang panunumpa pa sa katungkulan na maging tapat sa Konstitusyon at mga batas? Sa bagay, magtataka pa ba tayo e sa bibig niya pala mismo galing na naisip niyang putulin ang ulo ng Pangulo at nagbantapang ipapapatay ito,” she said.

(Whatever happened to her oath of office to adhere to the Constitution? But come to think of it, how can we be surprised when she said herself that she desires to remove the head of the President and even threatened to kill the President.)

“May tapang at malasakit daw sa maraming issue. Pero tikom ang bibig pagdating sa mga usapin ng dignidad ng kababaihan, soberenya sa sariling bansa, ng sariling bansa, at pangingibabaw ng batas. The silence actually reflects on her character, on the type of woman and leader she really is. That on the things that matter, women's dignity, our country's sovereignty, the rule of law in our land, we cannot count on her. Importante po ang mga puntong ito,” de Lima added.

(She says she is brave and has compassion, but she is silent when it comes to the dignity of women, sovereignty, and the rule of law.) 

De Lima said such silence is costly because it sends a message that people can jusr choose to be silent when public officials degrade the dignity of women.

“This is the sound of Sarah's silence. Hindi tayo pumapayag dito. Hindi tayo dapat pumayag dito. Dapat singilin natin ang ating mga pinuno kapag [sila ay] mali, kapag walang katwiran ang pagtikom ng kanilang bibig kung kailan kailangan,” de Lima said.

(We won't and should  not tolerate such silence from the Vice President. We must hold our public officials in the wrong, and when they are silent in moments when they need to speak up.) — BM, GMA Integrated News