Sen. Risa Hontiveros wore a simple piña barong outfit at the State of the Nation Address on July 22 but got a minor wardrobe malfunction from it as seen on a photo.
A Twitter user noticed this and called her a “thirsty slut” on Twitter. He attached the photo on his tweet.
“Dress appropriately. There’s a place and time to dress like a thirsty slut and a senator of the republic,” the tweet says.
This tweet soon reached Hontiveros. She made a screenshot of Malonzo’s post and called him out for his offensive comment.
“Stop telling women how to dress,” the lawmaker said.
She shared this in the morning before President Rodrigo Duterte delivered his speech. It soon made rounds more than 5,000 times hours later.
Hontiveros also posted it on her Facebook account and added the hashtag #BawalBastos.
This was the hashtag used to refer to the recently passed Safe Spaces Act, also known as “Bawal Bastos” law, that aims to protect Filipinos from harassment.
Hontiveros, who was the principal author of the law, informed the public about on May 29.
The Safe Spaces Act is an expansion of the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 that is only limited to sexual harassment in the workplace, schools and training institutions.
This time, street-level harassment such as wolf-whistling and cat-calling is already considered sexual harassment.
Moreover, a “public place” was expanded to include “streets and alleys, public parks, schools, government buildings, malls, bars, restaurants, transportation terminals, public markets, and public utility vehicles.”
SONA fashion
Red carpet outfits of SONA attendees have been of interest to those not into the news, politics and policy.
This year, most of the lawmakers wore traditional terno outfits from local designers.
Hontiveros wore a contemporary terno designed by Joel Acebuche.
Senator-elect Imee Marcos, meanwhile, wore a yellow dress by Mak Tumang.
Dina Bonnevie also wore a terno with Ilocano embroidery as she accompanied Congressman DV Savellano.