Hontiveros decries gov't double standard in marital scandals

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Monday decried what she calls as a double standard of the Duterte administration in the face of extramarital issues hounding top government officials.

Sen. Leila de Lima suffered condemnation by President Rodrigo Duterte and a few of his officials over her affair with her former driver who has not been legally separated from his wife, while Duterte excused his married close ally, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, who admitted to having a girlfriend.

"Kapag babae 'yung tinugis nila noon, ang tindi ng judgment 'tsaka ng persecution, naging political prosecution na rin. Pero pag sila, ititrivialize nila. (They went after the woman, judging strongly and persecuting her even politically. But if they did the same thing, they would trivialize it)," Hontiveros said in an interview on CNN Philippines' "The Source" on Monday.

"Na dahil lalaki sila o 'yun ang kanilang kaligayahan (because they are men, and they were simply seeking pleasure) or whatever, that is a terrible double standard. (They are making it appear that) patriarchal values are alive and well even these days," Hontiveros added.

Hontiveros said Alvarez himself meddled in De Lima's private life, which became the subject of public scrutiny at the House inquiry into the New Bilibid Prison drug trade. De Lima, a top critic of Duterte, is detained over accusations that she received drug money to fund her senatorial b

The senator, an ally of the Liberal Party of which De Lima is a member, thinks the lawmakers would not have shamed De Lima if she were a man.

"Kung lalaki siya, as witnessed today, hindi siya pahihirapan ng ganyang katindi, siguro kalahati lamang," Hontiveros said.

Hontiveros said that as a fellow legislator, she expected more from Alvarez, the leader of the Lower House.

"Dapat sa paghahain, pagpasa ng matitinong batas, hindi pagpapakita ng sexism or misogyny or a double standard in relationships," Hontiveros said.

She added that filing of a disbarment case against the house speaker, who appears to have violated laws on marriage, is up to any citizen who would "take it in their mind" to do so.