by Zia Luna
Quezon City Rep. Bong Suntay’s statement about Anne Curtis, where he openly described his sexual fantasies and then excused them as “just imagination,”was already a blatant display of misogyny.
But his follow-up remarks on One News’ Storycon, stating that Curtis should take his words as a “compliment,” only deepens the insult. This is not flattery. It is harassment normalized in public speech.
To call sexual objectification a “compliment” is to erase women’s right to dignity and autonomy. It suggests that women should be grateful for being reduced to fantasies, that their worth lies in how men desire them, and that they must accept disrespect as praise.
This is the very logic that sustains a culture of harassment: shifting the burden onto women to smile through humiliation, instead of demanding accountability from men who perpetuate it.
Such rhetoric is dangerous because it trivializes the harm of misogyny. It tells young women and girls that their voices matter less than how they look, that their achievements can be overshadowed by unwanted sexualization, and that even lawmakers, the very people tasked with protecting rights, can dismiss harassment as “compliments.” This is not only sexist; it is a betrayal of democratic values that require equality and respect.
Anne Curtis does not need Suntay’s “compliments.” What women need is recognition of their rights, respect for their personhood, and leaders who understand that fantasies about women’s bodies have no place in public discourse. To insist otherwise is to perpetuate misogyny under the guise of humor and flattery.
Suntay’s remarks must be condemned not just for their vulgarity, but for the mindset they reveal: that women’s dignity is negotiable, that harassment can be reframed as praise, and that accountability can be dodged with a smile.
This is precisely the culture that women’s rights movements have fought against for decades. And it is precisely why his words cannot be allowed to pass unchallenged.#
