MANILA – Members of Sanlakas party list and the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino held a rally at the headquarters of the ruling Liberal Party and denounced the alleged abuse and treatment of women as mere objects for the entertainment of politicians following the lewd shows at the recent birthday bash of Representative Benjie Agarao, of the 4th District of Laguna province.
Members of the Playgirls – clad in bra and bikini – were spotted in dirty dancing with politicians on a stage during the bash in front of a huge crowd. It was also recorded in cell phone videos by some of the people there and uploaded on Facebook.
Agarao himself admitted to the press that he finds no malice in the shows.
Aaron Pedrosa, Secretary General of Sanlakas, in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner, said: “The scandalous display of sexism, its tolerance and absurd justification by several veteran politicians only fortifies the belief that this rotten political system breeds debasement and prejudice against women.”
“No amount strong-worded statements by LP leaders and even by the Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte and other damage control efforts could not hide the fact that the objectification of women is a norm and scantily clad women gyrating to pop music a regular fixture during gatherings of politicians and even their campaign sorties,” he added.
Both groups took exception at a statement made by Senator Franklin Drilon that claimed that the Laguna incident was a “sorry isolated case.”
“We challenge Drilon to disclose to the public the basis for his judgment to prove the incident’s remoteness,” Pedrosa said.
He said in 2013, LP candidates in Malabon City also figured in a similar incident when they danced with skimpily dressed Playgirls members during their proclamation rally and also took off their clothes onstage.
BMP chairperson Leody De Guzman also called on Francis Tolentino, a senatorial aspirant who was present at the birthday celebration, and Agarao and all complicit politicians present during the scandalous gathering to quit denying and issue a public apology; and withdraw from the electoral race for good, out of delicadeza.
Tolentino, who was reported to have brought the show girls, denied all accusations against him. He said he arrived at the party and the girls were already performing their numbers.
“Retiring from the elections and even from public service is the prompt thing to do. They must learn to respect the electorate if they cannot discipline themselves and treat women as equals,” De Guzman said. “If they refuse to do so, the people shall deliver their collective verdict. Come Election Day, let the axe fall where it should.”
De Guzman, who also stands as the Secretary General of newly-formed Partido Lakas ng Masa, asked the Commission of Elections to totally ban lewd intermission numbers and the contracting of scantily clad females for the entirety of the campaign period and make it punishable with disqualification.
“How do we expect them to enact and implement laws in behalf of women if they utilize women as cheap and vulgar gimmicks to draw in huge numbers in their sorties and entertain themselves?” he asked.
The Liberal Party has vowed to look into the incident. (Mindanao Examiner)
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