We often hear the quote that actions speak louder than words, be it in our school, house, or anywhere responsibility lurks. The phrase reminds us that what people do carries more weight than what anybody could ever say. But when Bong Suntay casually narrates a lewd imagination involving actress Anne Curtis, describing how desire would “heat up” upon seeing her, it becomes a moment where obscene thoughts are allowed just to make a point.
And it did make a point. A point that the language of misogyny can so easily slide into the language of objectification and respect becomes an optional choice.
It was framed as an analogy, but it exposed something deeper about how women are still discussed—even in places where we are all equals.
When a lawmaker casually inserts a woman into a sexualized hypothetical during an official proceeding, the implication is much more severe. It suggests that even within the country’s highest governing body, women remain vulnerable to being reduced to objects rather than recognized as individuals.
This is how many things like objectification survive. Not through violence, but by rooting itself and normalizing itself. Through the casual confidence with which men narrate women’s bodies as if they exist only as examples. When a public official can describe feeling “in heat” at the sight of a woman during a formal proceeding, it reveals how deeply the entitlement runs.
Women have spent centuries fighting to be seen as thinkers, professionals, leaders, and citizens equal to men. Yet moments like this drag the conversation back to its most exhausting starting point. The gaze. The body. The tired insistence that a woman’s existence must first pass through male desire before anything else about her is considered.
And the irony of it could not be worse. The comment surfaced during the opening days of Women’s Month, a period meant to honor women’s contributions to society. Instead, the country was reminded that celebration is often cosmetic. Beneath the speeches and banners lies a culture still comfortable with shrinking women into objects of enjoyment.
Suntay said there was no malicious intent and admitted the criticism was deserved. Apologies, however, function as damage control. They appear after the fact, once the damage is already public. They cannot undo what the words have already etched onto the minds of the people that have seen the statement. In this moment right here, we cannot forgive and just forget about it.
Words reveal the true reach of power. They expose the attitudes that sit behind beliefs, behind leadership, behind institutions that claim to serve the public. When Bong Suntay speaks about women this way, he does more than embarrass himself. He exposes a system still struggling to see women as fully human. It proves that women have been independent, but it can never be free from the oppression that misogyny has created.
We often say that actions speak louder than words. But moments like this remind us that words can sometimes expose more than actions ever will.
Written by Lirus, Insight PH
Lirus, Insight PH is a dedicated campus journalist and contributor. Their insightful writing sparks meaningful conversations and keeps the community informed.
