The House committee on justice moved forward Tuesday with deliberations on whether the remaining impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte hold enough substance to proceed, but the session was overshadowed by a fellow lawmaker’s comments about actress Anne Curtis that drew sharp objections from multiple members.
Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, who chairs the committee, noted that when a member’s statements offend the sensibilities of fellow justice committee members, a line has already been crossed. “After all, we rule here by the judgment of the justice members,” Luistro said.
The controversy stemmed from Quezon City Rep. Bong Suntay’s attempt to challenge the legal basis of the third impeachment complaint, which accuses Duterte of political destabilization, sedition, and insurrection. Suntay argued that the vice president was being faulted simply for attending events where President Marcos faced criticism, and that her public remarks about being a “designated survivor” amounted to thoughts that carry no legal consequence.
To illustrate his point, Suntay invoked a personal anecdote involving Curtis.
“Lastly, you know, once when I was in Shangri-La, I saw Anne Curtis. She is really beautiful. You know, a desire inside me welled up, I felt the heat, and I just imagined what could happen, but of course, that is only my imagination. But I think I cannot be charged for what I was able to imagine,” he said.
San Juan Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora, the committee’s vice chairperson, immediately asked that the remarks be removed from the official record. Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. echoed the request.
Suntay pushed back, insisting his words contained nothing sexual or immoral and warning that erasing them would set a troubling standard. “So imagine, we are conducting a hearing, but now statements which are neither immoral nor illegal can be stricken out of the record without any reason,” he said.
Zamora countered by pointing to the timing of his remarks at the onset of National Women’s Month. “We’re not censuring anything, but we are reminding them that, in fact, we should support women by not saying these statements,” she said.
Tuesday’s session focused on the third complaint, filed by a group of clergy members and lawyers. The fourth complaint, brought by lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera and endorsed by Abante and Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V, is scheduled for discussion Wednesday.
Of the four complaints originally lodged, the committee voted 22-10 to set aside the first — filed by the Makabayan Coalition — on grounds that it violated the one-year bar rule. The second group of complainants, led by Tindig Pilipinas co-convenor Kiko Aquino Dee, voluntarily withdrew their petition Monday, pledging instead to back the clergy-led third complaint in an effort to speed up proceedings.
