THE Quezon City congressman who made sexually suggestive references to the actress Anne Curtis to make a point came under a firestorm of criticism on Wednesday for his “repulsive” remarks, but insisted “there was nothing malicious” in his statements. In a radio interview, Quezon City 4th District Rep. Bong Suntay apologized to those who found his statement offensive but said it was not his intention to offend anyone. “My intention was to drive a point,” Suntay said in Filipino and English in an interview on radio DZMM. In a session on Tuesday, Suntay defended Vice President Sara Duterte, who said she imagined killing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., likening that to a situation in which he saw the actress Anne Curtis and imagined, in his desire, what might happen. “But of course, it was just my imagination. Maybe I cannot be sued because I imagined various things,” he said in Filipino. “It was an imaginary situation,” Suntay said in his radio interview. “It was a fictitious situation. I have not even seen Anne Curtis in person but I have seen her on TV.” Suntay’s critics, however, were not appeased. Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday said Suntay should apologize and make the necessary amends to Anne Curtis for his inappropriate remarks. “There is absolutely no excuse for his repulsive remarks,” Hontiveros. “Worse, he insists that there was nothing wrong with what he said,” the senator said in a statement in Filipino. Members of the House Committee on Justice on Tuesday called out Suntay for verbalizing his apparent desire for Curtis during the proceedings on the pending impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte. Suntay said he “imagined something” upon seeing Curtis in a hotel. Hontiveros said Suntay must be reminded that under the Bawal Bastos Law, which she authored, “gender-based harassment is punishable.” “Statements of sexual comments and suggestions can be penalized. As a lawmaker, he should know this. More importantly, he is duty-bound to uphold it,” she said. “As we celebrate Women’s Month, this incident is a reminder that advancing women’s dignity and basic respect is continuous work; work that must be asserted, defended and reaffirmed, again and again,” she said. “We must not normalize lewd behavior. We must continue to defend women,” Hontiveros added. The Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) and other women’s rights groups on Wednesday condemned the sexist remarks, saying that his comment violates the law and ethical standards for public officials. In a statement, the PCW said Suntay’s statement is not only offensive but also violates existing laws, such as Republic Act (RA) 11313, or the Safe Spaces Act, and RA 9710, or the Magna Carta of Women. “The statement bears the hallmarks of gender-based sexual harassment as defined under Republic Act 11313. And when it comes from a public official, it is a serious betrayal of public trust and a violation of the law,” the commission said. Meanwhile, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Elago told The Manila Times that Congress must institutionalize steps to promote gender-sensitive practices and prohibit gender-based sexual harassment. She added that Congress should also strengthen the existing Safe Spaces Act to cover public office and impose stronger penalties for those who violate them. The PCW and Gabriela Women’s Party demanded that Suntay issue a public apology, stressing that his comments were not just “jokes” or “casual banter.” “Silence or inaction from those in oversight positions would be tantamount to complicity in the normalization of harassment,” the PCW said. Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte expressed disappointment as she demanded Suntay to apologize publicly over his “inappropriate remarks.” “But what makes this incident especially troubling is the fact that, as a former member of our city council, he (Suntay) was part of the body that passed our Gender and Development Code,” Belmonte said in a statement emailed to The Manila Times. Moreover, she said Suntay was the council’s majority floor leader when the “Bawal Bastos Ordinance,” which declares that lewd, malicious, and demeaning remarks and acts have no place in public life, was passed and approved. Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas denounced the Suntay’s remarks, calling them unacceptable and out of place. “As a woman and as mayor of Iloilo City, I cannot stay silent,” Treñas said in a statement condemning the congressman’s comments delivered during a House Committee on Justice hearing on Tuesday. Treñas said such statements have no place in public discourse, particularly when uttered by a lawmaker and especially during Women’s Month. “When a public official speaks, their words carry weight. Casual objectification, whether disguised as imagination or humor, demeans women and erodes the very culture of respect and equality that we are working so hard to build,” she said.