Members of the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality joined in condemning Quezon City 4th District Rep. Jesus “Bong” Suntay over remarks he made about actress Anne Curtis during a congressional hearing.

Laguna 1st District Rep. Ann Matibag described Suntay’s comments as “sexist” and called for zero tolerance for misogyny in public institutions.

Matibag said the committee strongly condemns the statements made by Suntay during a hearing of the House Committee on Justice, stressing that the remarks were not harmless jokes.

She said reducing a woman to an object of sexual imagination, particularly in an official proceeding, is blatantly sexist and embarrassing.

According to Matibag, such comments have no place in institutions that are supposed to uphold respect and professionalism.

The lawmaker added that public office demands discipline and accountability, noting that freedom of speech should never be used as a shield for misogyny.

During Tuesday’s hearing on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, Suntay shared an anecdote about seeing Curtis at a hotel.

“Lastly, alam niyo minsan, nasa Shangri-La ako, nakita ko si Anne Curtis, ang ganda-ganda pala niya. You know, may desire sa loob ko na, nag-init talaga, na-imagine ko na lang kung ano’ng pwedeng mangyari. Pero syempre hanggang imagination na lang ‘yon. Pero ‘di naman siguro ako pwedeng kasuhan kung ano ang na-imagine ko eh,” Suntay said.

The remarks were made during Women’s Month and drew criticism from several lawmakers.

Despite the backlash, Suntay initially insisted that there was nothing wrong with his statement.

“There is nothing sexual do’n sa sinabi ko (with what I said), nothing immoral, it’s just, I said, may na-imagine ako (I imagined something), I think there is nothing wrong,” he said during the hearing.

Assistant Majority Leader and Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong disagreed with Suntay’s claim.

“The comment made by one of our colleagues may not necessarily [be] immoral [or] illegal but the way it was said and how it was premised objectifies women, and the choice of language is inappropriate and to some extent unparliamentarian,” Adiong said.

Negros Occidental 3rd District Rep. Javier Miguel “Javi” Benitez also spoke out against the remark.

Akbayan Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña, a member of the minority bloc like Suntay, urged the Quezon City lawmaker to issue an apology and undergo gender sensitivity training.

“As public officials it is our duty to always uphold respect for women and to create safe spaces for women everywhere. I sincerely urge Rep. Suntay to apologize and voluntarily undergo a gender sensitivity training,” Cendaña said.

On Wednesday, Suntay apologized to Curtis over the remarks that drew criticism from fellow lawmakers.

“While there may be some who found the analogy in bad taste, to those who were offended, I repeat: there was no malice in my intent behind that statement,” Suntay told reporters on the sidelines of a House Committee on Justice hearing.

He said he did not intend to hurt anyone with his analogy but acknowledged that some may have been offended.

“If anyone was hurt, I sincerely apologize, and to Ms. Anne Curtis as well, if she was offended by what was said,” he said, adding that he meant no malice and asking for her forgiveness.