Women's group sounds alarm on Padilla's continued defense of sexual consent remarks
[Trigger warning: Sensitive topic]
Metro Manila, Philippines — A women's group said it is alarmed at the continued defense of Sen. Robin Padilla on the remarks he made during a committee hearing on marital rape and sexual consent.
“Sa halip na bawiin ang mga macho at anti-kababaihang mga pahayag na lumabas mismo sa isang Senate hearing…patuloy pang dinidepensahan ni Senator Robinhood Padilla ang kanyang mga baluktot at maling pananaw laban sa kababaihan,” Gabriela Secretary-General Clarice Palce said in a statement on Saturday, Aug. 17.
[Translation: Instead of withdrawing his macho and anti-women statements during a Senate hearing, Padilla continued to defend his crooked and wrong views that are against women.]
Palce said Padilla’s series of "dangerous" statements are extremely alarming and infuriating amid criticism from women themselves and citizens who defend women's rights.
Padilla has been widely criticized for his line of questioning during a Senate panel hearing that he led on Thursday, Aug. 15. He asked questions about rape within marriage, as well as asking what husbands can do when their wives are not in the mood for sex. He received a lecture from lawyer and women’s rights advocate Lorna Kapunan.
READ: Hearing turns into sexual consent lecture for Padilla
But in Facebook posts on Friday, Padilla issued an apology to those offended by what transpired on the hearing. His wife, actress Mariel Rodriguez Padilla, posted a photo of them kissing and wrote “Oh may consent yan ah [That’s with consent]” as the caption.
While there was an apology, the senator’s statements mainly clarified that he needed to raise those questions as part of the inquiry.
“Siya (lawyer Kapunan) ang makakasagot sa tanong ko kung ano ang sinasabi ng batas ng tao sa marital obligation,” Padilla said, adding his point was not about rape. https://www.facebook.com/ROBINPADILLA.OFFICIAL/posts/pfbid02PgxK43JgJbCqhEtNJxPgD2TTvRnaTvL7DAFoQqxUScWcLZHwJhDdVgq6R9wStFbzl
[Translation: Kapunan can answer my questions on what the law states about marital obligation.]
“Ang punto ay kung ano ang puedeng gawin ng asawang lalaki para maging legal ang paghingi ng sex ng isang lalaki at hindi maging rape. Wala akong sinabi na ok ang pilitin ang babae,” he added.
[Translation: My point was what can men legally do to ask sex from their wives and not be considered rape. I didn’t say that women can be forced.]
Promoting impunity
“Kadalasan, ang ganitong mga pahayag, lalo na’t mula sa mataas na posisyon sa gobyerno, ay nagtataguyod ng impunity o kawalang-pananagutan at higit pang naglalagay sa kababaihan sa bulnerableng sitwasyon ng pang-aabuso, sa loob man ng relasyon o hindi,” Palce said.
[Translation: Usually, such statements, especially from high-ranking government officials, promote impunity, further placing women in vulnerable situations of abuse, whether within a relationship or not.]
According to the 2022 National Demographic and Health Survey, around 18% or nearly 1 out of 5 Filipino women aged 15-49 have experienced emotional, physical, or sexual violence from their husband or intimate partner.
A total of 13,213 cases of violence against women (VAW) were reported to the Philippine National Police in 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority said in a 2024 fact sheet. Some 2,644 were rape cases.
“In the Philippines, some realities that contribute to the vulnerability of Filipino women to VAW are being accused as ‘naggers’ or neglectful of their duties as a wife that is why they are being beaten by their spouses or being raped due to their ‘flirtatious’ ways; in some instances, filing for sexual harassment is interpreted by her employer as being malicious on the appreciation of her good looks,” the Philippine Commission on Women said, stressing that the “culture of silence” poses a problem to knowing the full extent of VAW in the country.
Meanwhile, non-governmental organization Roots for Health said the controversy surrounding Padilla “should serve as a wake-up call.”
The group urged that sectors must focus on how to address the “troubling mindset” that it is “the wife’s duty to have sex with her husband whenever he wants it.”
“We all have a responsibility to understand and promote the importance of consent, especially to our children,” it said. “We call on the Philippine government, particularly DepEd, to fulfill its mandate and roll out comprehensive sexuality education now.”
Padilla earlier filed a bill to strengthen the anti-rape law, proposing severe penalties including life imprisonment and even the death penalty, for perpetrators regardless of the victim's gender.
