Bong Suntay ordered to render community service, apologize to Anne Curtis on TV over lewd remarks
The House of Representatives has penalized Quezon City 4th District Rep. Bong Suntay over lewd remarks made against actress Anne Curtis.
Following a 263-8-7 vote on June 3, Suntay must undergo a gender sensitivity seminar, complete voluntary community service, and issue a televised apology to the actress and all women over his lewd remarks. He was also given a disciplinary action of reprimand after the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges found him guilty of disorderly behavior due to “improper statements” about Curtis during a House justice committee hearing.
"Instead of maintaining legislative focus, the proceedings were disrupted when the respondent publicly made highly inappropriate, sexualized, and indiscreet remarks about a prominent private citizen, Ms. Anne Curtis-Smith," House committee chairperson Representative JC Abalos said.
"On the first appearance of the respondent before the committee on March 10, respondent admitted lapses of judgment. And on March 18, he made an unequivocal admission of his knowledge of the nature and consequences of his statements,” he continued.
“Wherefore, the Committee recommends that Rep. Suntay be penalized with a disciplinary action of reprimand under Section 52(b)(2), Rule IX of the Committee Rules, render voluntary community service, undergo gender sensitivity seminar organized by the House Committee on Women and Gender Equality, and issue a public apology to Ms. Anne Curtis-Smith and all women in a statement to be read before a television or broadcast media,” Abalos added.
Before this, Suntay expressed his gratitude to his colleagues for not penalizing him with suspension.
“Minsan din po akong nakaranas dumaan sa ethics committee at nanganib na masuspinde dahil sa isang analogy na aking inihayag during a committee deliberation. Nagpapasalamat ako sa ating mga kasamahan na tumayo upang ako ay hindi mapatawan ng parusang suspensiyon,” Suntay said on Tuesday, June 2, in his plenary speech defending Cavite 4th District Representative Kiko Barzaga, who was expelled by the lower chamber on the same day.
Suntay's lewd remarks
The issue stemmed from March 3 session, when Suntay made a manifestation about how there's "nothing seditious" that can be attributed to Vice President Sara Duterte's past statements against her former running-mate, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. It can be recalled that the VP once called herself the "designated survivor" after she said she wasn't attending the 2024 State of the Nation Address.
Suntay went on to share an anecdote of how one cannot be charged over their "imagination."
"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 anong pwedeng mangyari, pero siyempre hanggang imagination lang 'yon," the lawmaker said.
"Hindi naman siguro ako pwedeng kasuhan dahil kung ano na-imagine ko eh."
These remarks were met with mixed reactions. Some were seen and heard laughing during the hearing, while San Juan Rep. Bel Zamora immediately called for the comments to be stricken from the records. The House panel voted 13-2-2 to remove Suntay's remarks.
Suntay maintained that his statements are not "immoral or illegal" and were supposedly not "sexual." In a separate statement, he said that Curtis should see his remarks as a "compliment."
Social media users, celebrities and personalities, including Curtis' sister Jasmine, QC Mayor Joy Belmonte, and journalist Karen Davila, have likewise called out the lawmaker.
His wife, Sheila Guevara, has also apologized to Curtis: "My children [and] I do not agree with, and we do not condone, the analogy made by Bong," she said.
For her part, Curtis said she does not accept his "non-apology" and would be carrying this "personal wound." She said that she accepts his wife's apology as she understands how she must be feeling "as a wife and mother myself."
"We deserve better," she wrote. "Not just now, while this topic is a hot issue, but EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Not just from Mr. Suntay. From all of it. From the casual sexism disguised as clever remarks. From public officials who forget who they serve. From a culture that still asks women to laugh it off, to not be so sensitive and to pick their battles."
