Press Statement
8 March 2026 | International Women’s Day
On International Women’s Day, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers stands with all women in their struggle for equality, dignity, and freedom from violence, exploitation, and discrimination.
In the Philippines, women still confront the brutal realities of a society shaped by patriarchy, poverty, and systemic inequality. Despite decades of struggle and hard-won gains, women remain among the most marginalized and exploited in society. Poor and working women bear the heaviest burden. They are pushed into insecure and underpaid work, denied adequate social services, and made to carry the daily weight of economic hardship, unpaid labor, and gender-based violence. In their homes, workplaces, schools, communities, and online spaces, women are subjected to harassment, abuse, and degradation.
Misogyny thrives not only in everyday acts of discrimination, but also in the words and conduct of those who wield power and influence. This is why the recent misogynistic remarks of lawyer Ferdinand Topacio and Quezon City Congressman Jesus “Bong” Suntay demand the strongest condemnation. Such statements are not harmless jokes, careless opinions, or passing remarks. They are part of the same rotten culture that treats women’s bodies as public property, excuses sexual harassment, and normalizes violence against women. When powerful men suggest that women who wear bikinis or “nagpapasexy” should expect to be sexualized, they repeat the same reactionary and dangerous logic that blames women for the abuse inflicted on them.
These remarks are vile at any time, but all the more revolting during Women’s Month. At a time when women are asserting their rights and demanding protection and accountability, those in power must be challenged for reinforcing the very violence and discrimination that women continue to resist.
This is exactly the kind of conduct that laws such as the Safe Spaces Act were meant to confront. Women must never be demeaned, objectified, or harassed under the guise of humor, commentary, or free expression. No law and no principle of rights can be invoked to shield misogyny from criticism or accountability. For lawyers, the obligation is even greater. Members of the legal profession are bound not only by law, but by ethical duties that require respect, restraint, and fidelity to justice. They should know better than to echo the language of victim-blaming and sexual entitlement.
We call on public officials, lawyers, and all those who hold positions of power and influence to stop normalizing misogyny, sexual harassment, and violence against women. They must be called out and held accountable when they use their platforms to degrade women and reinforce a culture of abuse. Silence and inaction only embolden those who treat women’s dignity with contempt.
On this International Women’s Day, we reaffirm a basic truth that should never be up for debate: women do not invite harassment by how they dress, speak, or live. They do not lose their dignity by being visible, assertive, or expressive. Their rights are not conditional and their bodies are not objects for public consumption. Their humanity is not subject to debate and male approval.
There can be no genuine equality while women remain targets of abuse, exploitation, and contempt, and while poor and working women continue to suffer the combined violence of patriarchy and economic oppression. To defend women’s rights is to fight misogyny in all its forms, demand accountability from those who perpetuate it, and challenge the social order that keeps women vulnerable, silenced, and exploited.
On this day, we do not merely celebrate women. We stand with them in struggle, and we call on all to resist and oppose every act, policy, and system that denies them dignity, freedom, and justice.
Reference:
Atty. Katherine A. Panguban
Chairperson, NUPL Committee on Women and Children
+63 956 673 0301
