Congresswomen say no to showing of sex video

MANILA, Philippines - Women lawmakers asked the House of Representatives yesterday to do away with its plan to play the alleged sex video of Sen. Leila de Lima during the investigation on the illegal drug trade at the national penitentiary on Oct. 5.

In a manifesto entitled, “Statement of the Women of the House of Representatives,” they said the planned playing of the video “has nothing to do with what the committee on justice is investigating, which is the illegal drug trade in New Bilibid Prison.”

“Furthermore, doing so is clearly illegal. We, as lawmakers, must always be reminded of our duty to protect and preserve the law. The House of Representatives, as an institution that crafts and enacts laws, must not be the first to break them,” they said.

“As women, we take offense at any action that intends to shame and demean us, regardless of being citizens or senators. Let us not allow this to happen in the House, which has built a strong image as a protector of women’s rights and welfare. The path toward the truth should not be paved with the dignity of women to be trampled upon,” they said.

They urged their colleagues to join them in urging the House leadership to abandon the plan to play the alleged De Lima video.

The lawmakers called for “circumspection and sobriety” and for “sound judgment in these times.”

Reached for comment, Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas said, “The matter of the viewing of the alleged Senator De Lima video will be resolved and addressed by the committee on justice.”

However, he said if he were given a copy of the lawmakers’ statement, he would take it up with Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

Alvarez has said the showing of the video would violate no law.

However, he said yesterday in Bacolod City during the oath taking of more than 200 Negros Occidental officials joining the PDP-Laban that he is not sure if the alleged sex video really involved De Lima.

“It’s up to the justice committee members how they will handle it, if it will be presented during the committee,” he  said.

“But it is not for me to tell them what to do.”

Mindoro Oriental Rep. Reynaldo Umali, justice committee chairman, said he would let the panel “vote on whether or not to allow its showing if the Department of Justice presents it.”

He said there is no certainty if Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II would submit it as evidence.

Other House members joined their colleagues in opposing the move to play the video.

Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. said it would be “folly” on the part of the House to do it.

Diwa Rep. Emmeline Villar, who chairs the committee on women and gender equality, said it would be unacceptable.

The Makabayan bloc of seven lawmakers wrote Alvarez to ask him to abandon his plan to allow the playing of the supposed De Lima video in public.

Baguilat said showing the video material would be the House’s “most infamous folly, as it would serve no legislative end, not to mention that there is no determination that the video is even authentic.”

“The only clear purpose of the showing is to humiliate Senator De Lima,” he said.

He urged the authorities to file charges against the senator, if they have the evidence, instead of trying her through congressional hearings.

“If the administration is so sure that De Lima is involved in drugs and the alleged drug trade in Bilibid, then it should just file the proper charges in court. There, we have the mechanisms to make sure that her innocence is protected or her guilt proven,” Baguilat said.

He said the mere showing of the alleged sex video violates De Lima’s privacy and her right to due process.

Villar said the fact that the House is considering playing the De Lima video “is a sign of how far we yet have to go when it comes to the right of privacy and the rights of women in this country.”

Aside from House members, senators have cautioned the House against playing the supposed De Lima video in public.

Meanwhile, human rights group Karapatan also scored the proposal of Alvarez to show the alleged sex video of De Lima during the House hearing.

Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said the alleged sex tape will not determine the truth behind the illegal drug deals at the NBP.

The National Privacy Commission (NPC) said the House of Representatives could opt to hold an executive session if it is bent on playing the alleged sex video of De Lima.

NPC commissioner Raymound Enriquez Liboro said the people in the sex video, whoever they may be, have their rights to privacy.

Social media

Netizens brought yesterday to social media their campaign against shaming women. 

The hashtag #Everywoman trended in  various social media platforms yesterday.

As of 3:50 p.m., the #Everywoman was the third top trending topic on Twitter.

Vice President Leni Robredo’s eldest daughter Aika was among those who responded to the call circulating on social media encouraging women to protest the showing of De Lima’s purported sex video in Congress by declaring, “I would like to testify in the HOR. It was me in the sex video. Say no to shaming women.”

Women’s rights advocate Elizabeth Angsioco (@bethangsioco), on her Twitter account, said “#Everywoman concerns #Everyman. Could be your mom, sis, wife, friend.”

Twitter user Aliyah (@blanchettpls) said, “You shame one woman, you shame all of us. Say no to shaming women! #Everywoman.”

Palanca-winning writer Libay Linsangan Cantor also posted on her Facebook, “Doesn’t matter if you believe her or not. I’m taking a stand against attacks on a woman, period. Reposting this announcement from my fellow feminist. Feel free to share and join.”

Robredo, De Lima’s partymate in the Liberal Party, said she could not see how the playing of the purported video would help the inquiry find the truth in the proliferation of drugs at the NBP.

“As a long-time advocate for human and women’s rights, I am profoundly disturbed by a proposal that amounts to the public shaming of a woman and the infliction of grave harm on her dignity as a human person,” she said.

“As a former legislator, I fail to see how this will contribute to a substantial discussion of the issues being taken up.”   

A violation of a law

An expert in information technology believes lawmakers could be charged with violation of Republic Act 9995, the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act, if they show the video containing the alleged sex video of De Lima.

In a radio interview yesterday, lawyer Jose Jesus Disini, a law professor at the University of the Philippines College of Law, said persons involved in such videos could file complaints.

Disini said lawmakers are exempted from any arrest due to parliamentary immunity only for crimes which have prison terms of less than six years.

“The Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act, as far as I can remember, has penalty of three to seven years, making them qualified for charges,” he said. – With Artemio Dumlao, Rainier Allan Ronda, Gilbert Bayoran, Helen Flores, Ghio Ong