IN the midst of the noise surrounding Quezon City Rep. Bong Suntay’s remark about women, the local sports scene has not been spared from similar controversy.
During a Senate public hearing earlier in the week, Filipina-American basketball player Elizabeth Means — who is seeking naturalization to be able to suit up for Gilas Pilipinas Women — was questioned by Senator Jinggoy Estrada.
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“Do you have a Filipino boyfriend?”
To which Means answered, clearly uncomfortable: “None, none yet po.”
Estrada continued his remark: “Maybe Senator [Kiko] Pangilinan might want to apply.”
Go Hard Girls founder and advocate Ceej Tantengco-Malolos slammed what she decried was an inappropriate remark in, of all places, in a Senate floor where legislative processes are conducted, during International Women’s Month at that.
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“A 63-year-old creepily asking a 24-year-old about her personal life is not an appropriate way to assess this commitment,” she said in a video criticizing the exchange.
Means is coming off a championship in the 3x3 Basketball Thailand International League with the Pilipinas Aguilas. She is being groomed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) to boost the national 3x3 pool.
While Means has not personally spoken about the incident, Tantengco-Malolos said there is a clear “power imbalance” between a senator and an athlete seeking their endorsement for naturalization.
She added that it is high time Filipina athletes receive the respect they deserve.
“Everytime someone justifies the act as a ‘joke,' it entails that the ‘sense of humor’ is more important than a woman’s dignity,” she said. “Women, not just athletes, deserve respect, every day.”
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