EDITORIAL — Misogynists

You see the pits to which Philippine politics has fallen when you listen to Christian Sia. Campaigning last Thursday, the candidate for a congressional seat in Pasig told the audience that he was willing to sleep once a year with single mothers among them who are still menstruating and lonely. Those interested, he said, could register for the privilege.

The level of public discourse in this country has sunk to the gutter. And Sia insists it was just a joke. You wonder if he has a mother or other female relatives. Does he think he is God’s gift to women? Being a lawyer, Sia should know that such statements may constitute a violation of Commission on Elections guidelines on fair campaigning and anti-discrimination, which prohibit gender-based harassment.

Such remarks, delivered in public, may also constitute a criminal offense under Republic Act 7277, the Magna Carta for Women, and RA 11313 or the Safe Spaces Act. This case can test the resolve of the state to enforce such laws for the protection of women.

Ordered by the Comelec to explain his remarks and deluged with condemnation not only by women’s groups, Sia apologized – initially only to those who felt offended – as he pointed out that the audience laughed at his joke. It was meant, he said, to draw attention as the audience was becoming listless.

A study conducted by the Department of Health and University of the Philippines and funded by the World Health Organization placed the number of solo parents in the country at up to 15 million. Over 95 percent of them are women, many of whom are juggling the responsibilities of motherhood with the struggle to make a decent living. Many became single mothers because of partners who are deadbeats. A number of them became single mothers to escape domestic violence. Many suffer from depression and other mental health issues. None of these problems can be normalized as a joking matter.

Those lewd campaign remarks are un-Christian and degrading to women. Rodrigo Duterte, who liked joking about rape, is currently awaiting trial in The Hague on accusations of crimes against humanity. But his kindred spirits in attitudes toward women are still around, with Christian Sia as Exhibit A. There must be no place for this type of misogyny in government.