The Commission on Human Rights strongly condemns the President’s public remark claiming to have molested their female domestic worker when he was a teenager.

There is no acceptable spin or excuse to justify such statement. Words matter. Women have often been subjects of many forms of violence because such remarks help normalise degrading treatment against them.

The Palace claims that the President “has made up a laughable anecdote to dramatise the fact of sexual abuse that was inflicted on him and his fellow students when they were in high school.” But alleged abuses cannot be used as reason to degrade women and further violence. Sexual abuses committed by priests, if proven, are punishable under our laws. Women deserve to be treated equally and with dignity. More importantly, undue persecution of women will not lead to any form of justice.

Republic Act No. 6713—also known as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees—stresses that part of the duties of public officials is to observe respect for the rights of others at all times, and refrain from doing acts contrary to law, good morals, and customs. We urge the President, as well as everyone in the bureaucracy, to uphold this standard and be at the forefront of protecting the rights and dignity of all, as part of his sworn duty and mandate to every Filipino. ###