A Twitter user has come under fire for attacking opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros, calling her a “thirsty slut” for wearing a short Filipiniana dress in today’s State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Carlo Malonzo (@carlo1em) posted his tweet today where he wrote: “Dear Risa Hontiveros, Dress appropriately. There’s a place and time to dress like a thirsty slut and a senator of the republic.” Malonzo added the hashtags #CoverUp and #SONA2019.
He also attached a photo of Hontiveros posing for a photo with other senators, where he encircled her bare legs. His tweet has been reposted almost 13 times as of writing.
It did not take long for Hontiveros to call him out. Malonzo’s tweet was reposted on the senator’s Twitter and Facebook accounts where she wrote in Filipino and English: “It’s the first day of the 18th Congress and there’s something like this already. STOP TELLING WOMEN HOW TO DRESS.”
For good measure, Hontiveros also added the hashtag #BawalBastos which translates to “perverts/rude people not allowed.” Hontiveros’ calling out of Malonzo has gone viral and has been shared almost 1,300 times as of this article’s posting.
Hontiveros has long stood up for women’s rights and is the principal author of Republic Act 11313, called the Safe Streets and Public Spaces Act but often referred to in the media as the Anti-Bastos Bill (Anti-Pervert Bill). The law seeks to prevent sexual harassment in public places and online and has specified the following as punishable acts: cursing, wolf-whistling, catcalling, leering and intrusive gazing, taunting, and unwanted invitations, among others.
Most netizens thought Malonzo committed a grave mistake for slut-shaming Hontiveros. Reacting to his tweet, @pransesvanilla wrote: “Dear Carlo Malonzo, Think appropriately. There’s no place and time for YOU to blabber some macho-feudal impositions. Stop telling women how to dress, be it a senator of the republic or not.”
User @jyconutdonut posted a photo of Hontiveros which showed her dress in another angle and wrote: “I don’t own this photo. Tell me whats wrong with her dress?”
“Stop telling women how to dress!” wrote @kenazcarraga. “This is exactly the type of attitude that shouldn’t be tolerated. And please, don’t accuse her of being a slut, just because of that dress. For one, what is your problem with what she’s wearing? Is there anything ‘provocative’ about it?”
“Stop telling women what to wear. She can wear whatever she want[s], whenever she want[s], it does not lessen anyone’s dignity if they show their skin,” wrote @galeymorillo.
However, instead of apologizing for slut-shaming Hontiveros, Malonzo came up with a follow-up tweet where he wrote: “1.76 billion pesos from Philhealth not enough to buy yourself extra fabric?” He shared a link to an article about lawyers who challenged Hontiveros to spearhead the return of the PHP1.76 billion ($34.453 million) unauthorized bonuses that Philippine Health Insurance (PhilHealth) board members and employees received in 2013.
Hontiveros’ critics allege that she received these unauthorized bonuses but Rappler reported that Hontiveros worked for the PhilHealth from November 2014 to October 2015, way after the bonuses were released.
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