Jinggoy Estrada Under Fire for Asking Gilas Women Player If She Has a 'Filipino Boyfriend' During Senate Hearing
It's not even a full week into Women's Month and another male government official is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Senator Jinggoy Estrada is under fire after asking American basketball player and Gilas Women prospect Elizabeth Means if she has a "Filipino boyfriend" during a Senate committee on justice hearing on Tuesday, March 3 — where her proposed Filipino citizenship was being discussed.
Means, who was there to discuss her naturalization under Senate Bill 1594, chuckled and replied "Not yet po." But Estrada didn't stop there. He followed up by suggesting that Senator Francis Pangilinan "might want to apply" — essentially trying to pair up a married senator with the young athlete. Pangilinan, who is married to actress Sharon Cuneta, could be heard saying "Magagalit yung commander" (The commander will get angry).
The backlash was swift and fierce on social media. Filmmaker Jun Lana posted on X: "When will our leaders realize that their casual sexism is a national embarrassment?" Ceej Tantengco-Malolos, founder of Go Hard Girls, slammed the 63-year-old senator for "creepily asking a 24-year-old about her personal life" during what should have been a formal assessment of citizenship commitment.
The incident comes on the heels of the Bong Suntay controversy, where the Quezon City congressman publicly suggested having a sexual fantasy about actress Anne Curtis during a congressional hearing — also during Women's Month. The Commission on Human Rights has since condemned Suntay's remarks, and now Estrada's comments are being lumped into what critics call a pattern of casual sexism among male lawmakers.
Ironically, Estrada himself once took offense at a supposed joke — when contractor Curlee Discaya said he didn't deal with any senator, and then-Senate blue ribbon chair Rodante Marcoleta turned to Jinggoy and said "Safe ka na." Back then, Estrada asked the remark be stricken from the record. Whether he'll show the same sensitivity toward his own inappropriate comments remains to be seen.
Source: Rappler
