By Senator Risa Hontiveros
Senator Risa Hontiveros
Anne Curtis is, in many ways, a woman whom our society has long admired and celebrated. But during a recent hearing, Anne became someone whom Filipinas know too well: a woman subject to the crude imagination of a man who has forgotten the basic respect for others.
I felt disappointment. But I also felt recognition.
In moments like these, her name does not even matter. She could be any of our daughters or our sisters. Any of us, really!
Because abusers think that any visible woman, just her existence, gives them permission to speak about us in lewd ways. This behavior is not new. But it has never been acceptable.
That is exactly why I fought for the Safe Spaces Act, better known as the Bawal Bastos Law, which protects people from unwanted sexual remarks, gestures, and harassment in public spaces, workplaces, and online.
I am proud of this law, because it affirms that dignity is a right.
When disrespect like against Anne is laughed off, it becomes easier for the next person to repeat it.
That’s why catcalling is not harmless and offensive comments are not simple “compliments” that women should learn to ignore.
The hard truth is that the fight for women’s dignity has never been about just one law. Or one incident. Or one woman in the headlines.
The everyday realities that Filipino women carry quietly are not separate struggles. They overlap and spill into one another—a connection that has shaped my work in public service since the beginning.
Whether through the Safe Spaces Act, the 105-Day Expanded Maternity Leave Law, the Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act, the Healthy Nanay and Bulilit Act, or the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children Act, the goal has always been the same: that women’s problems be addressed with urgency, compassion, and respect.
What does that mean in everyday life? It is a woman protected from harassment. A mother given the time to heal and care for her newborn. A solo parent recognized not as an afterthought, but as someone carrying an enormous burden with quiet courage each day. It looks like children protected from abuse online. That’s a country where women and our quiet courage are recognized and supported.
Just recently, I turned 60. Among friends, we’ve joked that I am now a dual citizen: citizen of the Philippines and a citizen of the senior lane.
Even so, I don’t feel like I am finished with the work I have been called to do. On the contrary, it made me feel even more certain about the work that still needs to be done.
A dear colleague of mine, Senate President Tito Sotto, once told our session that growing old is not something to fear. It is something to aspire to.
And he is right. It is not a burden, but a privilege. I am grateful to still be in the fight.
Like many seniors, this season of life also makes me think more deeply about the people who make all the work matter.
For me, they have always been my children.
Much of what we do, all the long days, late nights, and hard battles are for them.
I tend to think about the kind of country they will grow up in, the kind of world they will inherit, and whether we adults have done enough.
Are our laws fairer? Have we made them more humane? Have we built a culture of respect for both men and women? Or are we still raising girls to be careful, while men continue to believe that a woman’s discomfort is a small price to pay for some cruel amusement?
Because the real measure of a society is not only about putting women on a pedestal, but how consistently it protects us in ordinary places and everyday life. Whether we are famous or simply going about our day, we deserve to feel protected at work, online, on the street, at home, in school, in public.
So to Anne Curtis, and to every woman who has endured the same indignity: we see you. Know that this fight is for all of us.
There is still so much work before us. And I, for one, am not done.
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