Comelec files disqualification case vs. Misamis Oriental's Peter Unabia over sexist remarks on nurses
The Commission on Elections filed a disqualification case against reelectionist Misamis Oriental Gov. Peter Unabia following his sexist and discriminatory remarks on nurses.
Comelec's Task Force Safeguarding Against Fear and Exclusion filed a motu proprio or self-initiated petition against Unabia before the Office of the Clerk of the Commission.
The poll body issued Unabia a show cause order on April 7 to explain his utterances during his campaign event on April 3.
It noted that Unabia possibly violated Comelec Resolution No. 11116 or the Anti-Discrimination and Fair Campaigning Guidelines.
In his April 3 speech, Unabia, in their local dialect, said his administration’s scholarship program for nursing students was only for “beautiful women."
"Itong nursing scholarship para lang sa mga babae. Hindi pwede ang lalaki. At dapat 'yung mga babae, maganda. Hindi pwedeng pangit, kasi kung nanghihina na ang mga lalaking pasyente kapag hinarap ng pangit na nurse, paano naman? Lalala ang sakit nyan. Kailangan maganda," he said, as per a translation by News5.
Comelec also ordered Unabia to explain his other pronouncement suggesting that Maranaos could cause problems in Misamis Oriental if his son, Rep. Christian Unabia, loses to a candidate with ties to Maranao politicians.
In response to the backlash, Unabia, in a statement, said his comments were taken out of context. He also accused his political opponents of "blowing them out of proportion."
Unabia defended his remarks, saying they "fall within the ambit of protected political expression, necessary to ensure transparency and engagement in public discourse."
The midterm elections are set to take place on May 12. There will be a total of 18,320 national and local positions in the upcoming elections.
Overseas Filipinos may vote from April 13 to May 12, while local absentees—Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, and media practitioners—may vote from April 28 to 30.
The campaign period began on Feb. 11.
