Members of the House Committee on Justice voted to remove remarks made by Quezon City 4th District Rep. Jesus Manuel “Bong” Suntay referencing actress Anne Curtis from the official record during a hearing on impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, according to footage from the House of Representatives.
The exchange occurred during the committee’s proceedings when Suntay made a manifestation recalling that he had seen Curtis and described her as “really beautiful,” adding that he had imagined what could happen upon seeing her but clarified that it was only an imagined scenario.
Shortly after the statement, a committee member moved to strike the remarks from the record. The presiding chair acknowledged the motion and called for a second before ordering a division of the committee to determine whether the manifestation should remain in the official transcript.
During the vote, committee members were asked to raise their hands to indicate their positions on the motion. The chair later announced that the proposal to remove the remarks had been approved by a majority of the committee.
“With 13 votes in the affirmative and two in the negative,” the chair declared during the session, ordering that the earlier manifestation referencing the actress be stricken from the record.
Following the decision, Suntay raised an objection, arguing that removing the statement could create a concerning precedent for legislative proceedings.
“I think we are starting a dangerous precedent,” Suntay said during a subsequent manifestation. He argued that statements that are “neither illegal nor immoral” should not be removed from the official record, warning that doing so could allow expressions during hearings to be censored without clear justification.
Another committee member responded that the objection raised by colleagues was tied to the nature and timing of the remarks. The lawmaker noted that the comment came at the start of activities marking Women’s Month and emphasized that lawmakers should be mindful of statements that could be perceived as disrespectful.
“With all due respect to my friend, it is just the start of Women’s Month, and I don’t think that we should be hearing such comments from our dear colleagues,” the member said, adding that supporting women includes refraining from making remarks that could undermine that goal.
The committee chair later addressed the panel, saying that determining whether a manifestation is offensive ultimately falls within the judgment of the committee members. The presiding officer said the vote reflected the decision of the majority of the committee.
The hearing continued after the ruling, with the earlier remarks formally removed from the official record of the committee proceedings.