Anne Curtis Issues Powerful Response to Rep. Bong Suntay's “Vulgar” Remarks

Anne Curtis has spoken out against the controversial remark made about her by Quezon City Fourth District Representative Bong Suntay. The actress explained that it took her time to respond as she’d been preoccupied with reuniting with her family who'd been stranded in the Middle East.

According to the actress, the sexually charged analogy made with her name left her shocked and hurt. She felt “disturbed by how perverted it was, and angry.” Anne acknowledged that such a remark wasn’t an isolated case and that it happened to women every day.

She then called out Rep. Suntay for taking part in a culture that still allows misogyny to run rampant in society. “As they say, misogyny dressed up as a joke is still misogyny,” she wrote. “You hold a seat paid for by taxpayers. Women are taxpayers. I am a taxpayer. We are not props in your commentary.”

Anne made it clear that she does not accept Rep. Suntay’s “non-apology.” She does, however, accept that of his wife’s own apology, made just days after the issue blew up. She sympathized with Shiela Guevara, stating, “I know exactly what she must be feeling—that particular kind of embarrassment, that helplessness, that quiet grief of watching someone choose so poorly in public.”

Anne called for the public to leave Shiela and her children out of the controversy, reiterating it is not their shame to carry. She then issued a powerful statement: “We deserve better. Not just now, while this topic is a hot issue, but EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

“Every time a remark like this goes unchallenged, we lower the bar for what leadership looks like. Every time a woman is reduced to a cheap remark by someone holding a position of public trust, and nothing happens…we tell the next generation of women exactly where they stand. That is what I refuse to accept. Any leader who cannot respect women does not understand leadership at all. Respecting women, after all, is simply basic decency.”

The actress also asked the Ethics Committee not to take what happened lightly. “The integrity of public office depends on the standards it upholds,” said Anne. She ended her statement by emphasizing that she will seek legal advice on the matter, before thanking everyone who stood up for her and all women. “If anyone is wondering why Women’s Month still matters—this is exactly why.”

Read Anne's full statement here.