The wife of Rep. Bong Suntay (Quezon City, Fourth District) said she and her children do not agree with or condone the analogy her husband made involving actress-host Anne Curtis.
In a personal statement issued on Thursday, March 5, Sheila Guevara debunked claims that she laughed and approved of the lawmaker’s inappropriate remarks, saying she will “not allow that narrative to stand unchallenged.”
“To Anne Curtis and her family — I am deeply sorry. No woman should ever be spoken about that way, and I understand if words alone feel insufficient. Please know that my heart goes out to you, and I stand with you,” she said.
“Every woman — regardless of who she is, whose wife or daughter she may be, or whatever her background — deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. That is a value I hold deeply and will never compromise on,” Guevara added.
She also appealed to the public to leave her children out of the discussion, stressing that they are not public figures.
“Please leave me and my children out of this. We are not public figures. My children are children. No mother should have to watch her children be targeted and harassed for something they had no part in. I humbly ask the public and the media to respect that boundary. Thank you,” Guevara said.
Her post was well-received by other personalities, who shared their reactions to her statements.
“Well said, Sheila,” content creator-entrepreneur Small Laude wrote.
“Very well said,” actress Marjorie Barretto commented with a heart emoji.
“Love you, sissypooh. I’m glad you did this. Big hugs to you and the kids. Praying for continued peace [and] strength for you and the kids,” actress Jackie Forster wrote.
“Praying with you, sis,” TV host and speaker Miriam Quiambao commented.
Host Regine Tolentino also expressed her support by dropping comments of folded hands emojis.
“I never doubted it,” broadcaster Pinky Webb also wrote.
‘Analogy’
This week, Suntay came under fire for making inappropriate comments about Anne, which he described as an “analogy” while defending Vice President Sara Duterte‘s remarks about “imagining” cutting off the head of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
READ: ‘Issue proper apology’: Calls for accountability mount vs Suntay over remarks about Anne Curtis
At the time, the House was holding proceedings on pending impeachment complaints against Duterte.
The vice president’s comment against Marcos was among those discussed, which Suntay defended by saying he had also “imagined” taking certain actions.
“Alam mo, minsan, nasa Shangri-La ako, nakita ko si Anne Curtis, ang ganda-ganda pala niya. You know, may desire sa loob ko na nag-init talaga. Na-imagine ko na lang kung ano ang pwedeng mangyari,” the married lawmaker said on Tuesday, March 3.
“Pero syempre, hanggang imagination na lang ‘yon. Hindi naman siguro ako pwedeng kasuhan dahil kung anu-ano ‘yong na-imagine ko,” Suntay added.
The lawmaker later claimed the scenario was a “fictitious situation” he had made up, adding that he had never met Anne in person.
“It was a four-hour debate, and the adrenaline was high,” Suntay said. “It was a mistake.”
Suntay also apologized to those who were offended but maintained that his remark was meant as an “analogy.”
“I stand by that analogy that I made, but if some people were offended, lalo na Women’s Month, I’m sorry for those who were offended, but if you read the context talaga, there was nothing malicious in it,” he told DZMM Teleradyo on Wednesday, March 4.
“Depende kung bibigyan ng malice nung nagbasa… Pasensiya na po. To make it appear offensive was not the intention,” Suntay added.
Other personalities and organizations, including the Philippine Commission on Women, condemned the lawmaker for what they called “sexist” remarks and a “declaration of predatory desire.”
“They reduce a woman to an object of male desire, normalizing a culture of harassment that Filipino women experience every day in streets, workplaces, and public spaces. They are an affront not only to Ms. Anne Curtis, but to every Filipino woman who has been made to feel unsafe by the unbridled language of those in power,” the PCW said.
The House of Representatives has already summoned Suntay to appear before the House Committee on Ethics over his inappropriate remarks about Anne.
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