A woman’s high heels

By Alex P. Vidal

“I don’t know who invented high heels, but all women owe him a lot.” – Marilyn Monroe

IT’S unfortunate that the furor generated by Quezon City Rep. Jesus Manuel “Bong” Suntay’s inappropriate, sexually suggestive remarks about actress Anne Curtis during a House Committee on Justice hearing came five days before a scheduled rally with women and girls around the world to demand equal rights and equal justice to enforce, exercise, and enjoy those rights on March 8.

Suntay’s controversial comments were made while the House Committee was discussing the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio on March 3.

It came as the United Nations (UN) lamented that nowadays, no nation has closed the legal gaps between men and women.

“Right now, women have only 64 per cent of the legal rights that men hold worldwide,” declared the UN. “In fundamental areas of life, including work, money, safety, family, property, mobility, business, and retirement – the law systematically disadvantages women.”

International Women’s Day 2026 (IWD 2026), under the theme, “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls”, calls for action to dismantle all barriers to equal justice: discriminatory laws, weak legal protections, and harmful practices and social norms that erode the rights of women and girls.

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Suntay and other bigots must be reminded that women possess inherent human dignity, worth, and rights equal to men, regardless of gender and they, therefore, deserve respect.

In our culture as Filipinos, we believe respecting women is essential for fostering a just, equitable, and safe society, as they contribute equally to all aspects of life and deserve to be treated with dignity, not objectified or marginalized

Women, like our mothers, sisters, wives, girlfriends, are individuals with their own lives, thoughts, and rights like all human beings. They are not objects for pleasure, nor are they subordinate to men.

They make immeasurable contributions to society, families, and workplaces, often working long hours and balancing multiple, demanding roles.

But Suntay had the gall to argued that imagination is not a crime, claiming he once imagined a scenario with Curtis at a hotel.

Fellow lawmakers led by Rep. Leila de Lima condemned the remarks as misogynistic, especially during Women’s Month.

Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and actress Jasmine Curtis-Smith also took turns in lambasting Suntay’s comments, with Curtis-Smith highlighting that it reduced women to objects in male-dominated spaces.

As of this writing, Suntay reportedly issued an apology following the intense backlash. But the damage to his reputation has been done.

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Important things to remember in IWD 2026:

-Women have only 64 percent of the legal rights that men hold worldwide;

-If progress continues at its current pace, it will take 286 years to close legal protection gaps;

-In many countries, the law allows for early and child marriage, which erodes the full potential of about 12 million girls annually. (Source: UN)

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TEMPLE OF FERTILITY. Around 100 B.C. in Babylon all women had to go to the temple of the Fertility Goddess Mylitta to have sex with a stranger. Only then were the women allowed to marry. The stranger, in return, had to donate money to the temple. (The History of Prostitution)

CANCER is the second‑leading cause of death in New York City, following heart disease. Whether we or someone we know have been diagnosed, cancer has touched all of us.

At NYC Health + Hospitals, their goal is to find cancer early so that it can be more easily treated. They provide the highest quality cancer care — even for the most challenging kinds of cancer.

“If you need screening, diagnosis, treatment, or support, our experts are here for you and your family at our hospitals and neighborhood health centers,” announced NYC Health + Hospitals.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)