AN apparently exasperated Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Erwin Garcia appeared for the nth time on national television, with a very urgent appeal for candidates, both national and local, to exercise caution and at least ‘common sense’ in the conduct of their campaign.
Garcia’s repeated plea is understandable, especially in light of recent events that forced his office to issue show cause orders to several candidates.
Still, Garcia continues to sound like a broken record—patiently and persistently calling for decency, respect, and basic sensibility in political campaigning.
The Comelec chair explains that Section 3 of the election law states that discrimination against women or gender-based harassment is not only a violation of anti-discrimination laws but also constitutes an election offense.
The law defines it as any “gender-based distinction, exclusion or restriction” that diminishes the recognition of women or deprives them of their right to fully exercise their rights.
Leading the so-called list of “pasaways” is lawyer and Pasig congressional candidate Christian Sia. During a campaign rally, he joked onstage that single mothers who still menstruate could sleep with him once a year.
With the issue still far from dying down, he once again drew the attention of the public and the Comelec when he issued certain remarks against his own female staff during a campaign sortie. He called the staff onstage and body-shamed her.
Sia said if he were a pervert, he would not have hired her — mocking her age and physical appearance. The woman, who is in her late 50s and on the heavier side, became the subject of public humiliation.
These incidents led the Comelec to issue two show-cause orders against him in quick succession.
Not long after, Batangas gubernatorial candidate Jay Manalo Ilagan made controversial remarks during a rally. Referring to veteran actress Vilma Santos, he said, “Vilma Santos la-ang na laos na.”
He also berated her fans, saying: “marami sa fans nya namamahinga na… nasa edad na”. He added that he would only be nervous if he were running against younger stars like Kathryn Bernardo or Andrea Brillantes.
Joining the growing list of ‘tactless’ politicians was Rep. Ruwel Peter Gonzaga of Davao de Oro, who openly asked during a rally if women were better in bed than men.
In the same event, he mocked a woman widowed for 14 years by joking that her sex organ must have “closed up” already.
Misamis Oriental Governor Peter Unabia, who is seeking re-election, also made headlines for inappropriate remarks. He told a crowd that only beautiful women should qualify for nursing scholarships, claiming that male patients’ health might deteriorate if an “ugly” nurse was assigned to care for them.
All of them were called out by the Comelec and even women’s rights groups for their remarks that tended to demean women.
Lamentably, the so-called ‘cherry on top’ had to come from someone who herself is a woman, in the person of Mocha Uson, who is running for councilor under the slate of Isko Moreno.
Uson was flagged by Garcia, for using a campaign jingle found to be with “double meaning” and “sexually suggestive and she was also called upon to “reflect on the impact of your current campaign approach and make choices that elevate political participation and discourse.”
“Puns and double meanings may be used as literary devices in campaigns, but we hope that these are used not to distract from your political platform or skirt the line between accepted speech and obscenity, as we are in the context of elections,” Garcia said in a one-page letter.
As a reaction, Uson said: “We are currently reviewing all our content to ensure that it aligns with the standards of decency and appropriateness expected in public discourse and electoral engagement.”
Reviewing? Note that it was Uson herself who sang and danced to her jingle onstage. Is she saying that she did not understand the lyrics she was uttering or their meaning?
The jingle used the words “Cookie ni Mocha para sa pagbabago” and there are also videos showing Uson repeatedly singing the lyrics, “Cookie ni Mocha, ang sarap-sarap!” while performing with gusto in front of a crowd.
The suggested obscenity is obviously being tolerated by her own partymates, as no one bothered to flag her while she performed consistently in front of them. Some even tried to ride by using the green idea in a desperate attempt to promote themselves on social media. Tsk, tsk, tsk!!!
