MANILA, Philippines — Actress Anne Curtis has spoken out following the lewd and misogynistic comments made by Quezon City 4th District Representative Bong Suntay during the House impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte on March 3.
Curtis stressed that while many women experience such harassment daily, her case stands out because the remarks came from a public official.
“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,” she said.
Curtis also addressed Suntay directly: “You hold a seat paid for by taxpayers. Women are taxpayers. I am a taxpayer. We are not props in your commentary.”
Suntay claimed he was making an analogy to defend Duterte’s threat against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., but the public and women’s groups did not view it as a joke. On March 6, several organizations filed a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman, citing alleged violations of the Safe Spaces Act, the Magna Carta of Women, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, and the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability for lawyers.
Additionally, Suntay faces a separate ethics complaint filed by Gabriela Women’s Party and Kilusan ng Manggagawang Kababaihan at the House. The lower chamber has already authorized its ethics committee to investigate the lawmaker’s remarks.
Curtis also commented on the apology issued by Suntay’s wife, Sheila Guevarra, noting that she does not accept the lawmaker’s “non-apology” but recognizes the wife’s expression of regret.
“Because as a wife and a mother myself, I know exactly what she must be feeling — that particular kind of embarrassment, that helplessness, that quiet grief of watching someone choose so poorly in public,” Curtis said.
“To her, and to your children: this is not your shame. Please know that. I hope everyone reading this extends them the same grace. They did nothing wrong, and they deserve to be left out of it entirely,” she added.
On March 5, Guevarra issued a public apology, stating, “To Anne Curtis and her family — I am deeply sorry. No woman should ever be spoken about that way, and I understand if words alone feel insufficient.”
