A Filipino lawmaker on Wednesday said "sorry for those who were offended" by his risque remarks towards actress-host Anne Curtis but said he stood by his analogy.
“I stand by that analogy that I made but if some people were offended, lalo na Women’s Month, I’m sorry for those who were offended but if you read the context talaga, there was nothing malicious in it,” Quezon City 4th District Rep. Bong Suntay said in a DZMM interview.
“Depende kung bibigyan ng malice nung nagbasa...Pasensiya na po. To make it appear offensive was not the intention.”
Suntay has come under fire for saying during the March 3 hearing of the House justice committee that he had “desires” after seeing Curtis.
“Alam mo, minsan, nasa Shangri-la ako, nakita ko si Anne Curtis, ang ganda-ganda pala niya. You know, may desire sa loob ko na nag-init talaga. Na-imagine ko na lang kung ano ang pwedeng mangyari. Pero syempre, hanggang imagination na lang 'yon. Hindi naman siguro ako pwedeng kasuhan dahil kung anu-ano 'yong na-imagine ko,” Suntay said.
The congressman has compared his “desire” towards Curtis to Vice President Sara Duterte’s past statement that she wanted to cut off the head of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in that both are just imagined.
His remark did not sit well with San Juan Lone District Representative Ysabel Maria J. Zamora who moved to have it stricken from the record.
In the interview, Suntay again defended his remark, saying it was a fictitious situation since he had never seen Curtis in person, only on TV.
“I stand by it. Ang ganda-ganda pala niya. Pero hanggang doon na lang. Ang punto ko lang na I wanted to drive at - something that you imagine, something that you desire, ano yan, it is not an impeachable offense if there were no overt acts, which was done,” he said.
He added his remarks were meant to drive a point, noting that Duterte's statement on "beheading" Marcos was made after the President allegedly humiliated a child who had asked for the President's watch as a graduation gift.
"Ang punto ko, a lot of people they take a statement out of context kasi that analogy was made dun sa one of the articles in the complaints against Vice-President Sara Duterte..."
"Ang imagination ba - is it an impeachable offense or a criminal offense? Kaya ako gumawa nang analogy."
Suntay has been accused of lawyering for the Vice President, after he denied that cash envelopes distributed by Duterte's office to DepEd officials constituted a bribe.