Suntay faces colleagues in House ethics panel hearing over Anne Curtis comments

Quezon City 4th District Rep. Jesus “Bong” Suntay on Tuesday faced his fellow lawmakers before the House committee on ethics hearing over his statements concerning actress Anne Curtis. 

“Yes,” House ethics panel chair and 4Ps Party-list Rep. JC Abalos said when asked if Suntay attended the hearing. 

Abalos was referring to the committee’s hearing that was conducted based on the House plenary’s recommendation that the House ethics panel evaluate Suntay’s actions.

“He was formally instructed to attend the hearing today. Manifestations were made and put on record and this will all be included as we deliberate on our committee report,” Abalos said.

He did not give specifics, citing the confidentiality of the House ethics panel proceedings, pending the resolution of the complaint. 

Abalos said the House ethics committee will decide on the Suntay case based on merit and that it will happen soon. 

He added that under the House ethics panel proceedings, Suntay has 10 days to reply on the ethics complaint filed against him from the first hearing, which was today, March 10.

“We must make judgments based on evidence and in accordance with our rules. We are on the side of justice, kung ano ang nararapat na asal sa siyang miyembro ng Kongreso (on what should be the proper conduct of a member of Congress),” Abalos said. 

Aside from the House plenary’s recommendation to conduct proceedings against Suntay, women’s groups also filed an ethics complaint against the Quezon City lawmaker over his remarks referring to Curtis.

Suntay is also facing an administrative complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman because of his comments, in which he said during a House hearing that he felt sudden heat and imagined things upon seeing how beautiful Curtis was.

Suntay said such imagination and crime is not a crime, much like Vice President Sara Duterte’s desire to remove the head of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and designate herself as a designated survivor is not a crime and is not a serious threat.

He made the remarks during the House justice panel discussion on the sufficiency in substance of the impeachment complaints against the Vice President.

Suntay apologized for his remarks and but maintained that his remarks were not made out of malice.

Curtis, however, said Suntay’s statement was a non-apology and said she is considering legal action. 

“I do not accept your non-apology. But I also will not carry this as a personal wound. I do, however, accept your wife’s apology,” Curtis said. 

“Since you used me as an example, let me use you as one too. You’ve become the poster boy of something much bigger: a culture that still thinks it’s acceptable to talk about women this way. Worse, one that tolerates it from our leaders. As they say, misogyny dressed up as a joke is still misogyny. We deserve better,” she added. — JMA, GMA Integrated News