The Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) has called on Representative Bong Suntay to undergo gender sensitivity and gender-fair communication training following his controversial statement about actress Anne Curtis during a House Committee on Justice hearing.

In a statement released on Wednesday, March 4, the commission described the remarks as a public act of sexual objectification and gender-based harassment, emphasizing that they reduce women to objects of male desire and normalize harassment in public and professional spaces.

PCW noted that Suntay’s words violate the Safe Spaces Act (RA 11313), the Magna Carta of Women (RA 9710), and the Code of Conduct for Public Officials (RA 6713), while also contradicting the Philippines’ obligations under the CEDAW treaty.

“Public office is not merely a position of authority; it is a position of example,” the PCW statement read.

The commission called on Suntay to issue a full public apology and to undergo gender sensitivity and gender-fair communication training, stressing that these steps are essential for understanding the harm caused by sexual objectification and for upholding the dignity of all constituents.

The PCW also urged the House Ethics Committee to take appropriate administrative action, warning that inaction would amount to complicity in the normalization of harassment.

“To Ms. Anne Curtis and to every Filipino woman who heard those words and felt the weight of being reduced to an object—the PCW sees you. Your dignity is not negotiable," the statement added.

The commission stressed that incidents like these reflect a deeper culture of gender inequality that public officials must actively challenge rather than perpetuate.