MANILA, Philippines – Final March 3, American basketball participant Elizabeth Means sat earlier than lawmakers, searching for naturalization to swimsuit up for Gilas Pilipinas Ladies in worldwide competitions.
What began as a wholesome dialogue for the 23-year-old Means, meant to be granted Filipino citizenship alongside former UAAP MVP Malick Dious, become an uncalled-for second about her private life.
“Do you’ve got a Filipino boyfriend?” Senator Jinggoy Estrada requested Means through the listening to, in entrance of Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas officers and different Senate friends.
“Not but po,” Means answered.
“Possibly Senator (Kiko) Pangilinan would possibly need to apply,” Estrada replied. “Sorry kay (to) Sharon (Pangilinan’s spouse).”
Whereas Means’ naturalization, together with Diouf’s, handed the third and remaining studying within the Senate, Estrada’s remark naturally drew flak.
For Ceej Tantengco-Malolos, founding father of women-led sports activities media group Go Onerous Ladies, the moderately unsettling scene on the Senate flooring is a microcosm of society’s misogynistic norms, particularly in male-dominated areas, like politics and sports activities.
“The explanation why it ought to spark a dialog is as a result of that is greater than Jinggoy Estrada,” Tantengco-Malolos advised Rappler. “These are signs of a society wherein respect for ladies is handled as non-obligatory.”
“There ought to be a dialog about what it actually means to respect girls athletes. It’s very simple after the SEA (Southeast Asian) Video games, or Olympics, to say, ‘Go girls.’ Supporting girls is extra than simply saying lady energy.”
Extra work to do
In the identical week, one other lawmaker, Quezon Metropolis 4th District Consultant Bong Suntay, steered having a sexual fantasy about actress Anne Curtis through the Congress’ deliberations on Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment instances.
In Estrada’s case, the temper within the Senate room was mild, however the uncomfortable feeling from the intrusiveness of his query was sheathed.
Mau Belen, the primary feminine coach within the PBA and a nationwide crew coach in 3×3 basketball, stated the second highlights how girls in sports activities are nonetheless perceived.
“As somebody who has been round girls’s basketball for years and works intently with feminine athletes, moments like what occurred between Jinggoy Estrada and Elizabeth Means matter as a result of they mirror how girls in sports activities are generally nonetheless talked about or handled,” Belen advised Rappler.
“So, when remarks like that occur, it reminds us that there’s nonetheless work to do in ensuring girls in sports activities are revered for what they create to the sport.”
Sharon Cabusao Silva, a girls’s rights activist and government director of Lila Pilipina, stated the incident also needs to function a reminder, particularly for younger males, concerning the significance of respecting girls and recognizing their position in sports activities.
“Ladies athletes play an essential position in breaking the restricted conventional roles or traits typically ascribed to girls,” Cabusao Silva advised Rappler. “In victory, they supply delight for his or her nation, notably for ladies who aspire to embody the identical qualities they show.”
“We have to remind males that girls should be handled on equal phrases. They need to not trivialize girls’s achievements, standing, and considerations, or suppose that girls solely discover that means and significance in having males or relationships round them.”
For Tantengco-Malolos, the criticism surrounding each incidents shouldn’t fade rapidly, particularly throughout Worldwide Ladies’s Month.
“This isn’t an remoted case,” stated Tantengco-Malolos. “There ought to be a dialog available about our lawmakers exhibiting as much as their jobs, for which they’re paid with taxpayers’ cash — our cash —and utilizing their time to make these sorts of jokes in a piece setting.”
“I don’t really feel good that my taxes as a lady throughout Ladies’s Month are getting used to pay the wage of males who disrespect girls.”
Respect, on the most simple stage, ought to stay paramount in any area, whether or not in sports activities, politics, or on a regular basis life.
“There ought to be a long-term funding, and we gained’t make progress until respect is assured,” Tantengco-Malolos stated in a mixture of Filipino and English. “Everyone seems to be the kid of a mom, and it ought to be so primary to respect girls.”
“Respect is primary and elementary in any social relation, and it ought to be demanded most from individuals who wield energy or authority, who’re extra typically males,” Cabusao Silva added.
‘Mannequin respect on daily basis’
Means, a 6-foot ahead, was a US NCAA Division II participant for Westminster College. She performed one skilled season in Ecuador, placing up 10.2 factors and 10.8 rebounds.
Days earlier than the Senate listening to, Means led the Pilipinas Aguilas to a title within the 2026 3×3 BITL held in Bangkok, Thailand, along with Filipina teammates Mikka Cacho, Trina Guytingco, and Camille Malagar. The crew completed the event with a 6-0 file.
Their run was cited within the listening to of the Senate committee on justice and human rights, headed by Pangilinan.
For Belen, significant change in how girls are valued in sports activities can start with on a regular basis conversations, each on and off the courtroom.
“As coaches, mentors, and leaders, we’ve got a accountability to mannequin respect on daily basis,” she stated. “In sports activities, we at all times discuss self-discipline, character, and teamwork. A part of that’s understanding that girls deserve the identical respect on and off the courtroom.”
“When younger athletes develop up seeing girls as teammates, rivals, and leaders, it naturally shapes how they deal with them in life as properly.”
Tangtengco-Malolos hopes the incident sparks dialogue that may denormalize such remarks.
“You need to discuss to your coworkers, discuss to your barkada, discuss to your sons, discuss to the boys in your circle,” Tangtengco-Malolos stated. “If we’re speaking about males who don’t respect girls, if their drawback is males who don’t respect girls, I extremely doubt that somebody like me will have the ability to change their thoughts. The person who wants probably the most change is strictly the person who won’t hearken to me.”
Finally, the accountability to advertise fairness, Tangtengco-Malolos stated, shouldn’t be seen merely as a girls’s situation.
“The burden of advocating or convincing individuals shouldn’t all be on girls. The accountability of making a extra honest, equitable, and empowering world is the accountability of women and men equally,” Tangtengco-Malolos stated. – with experiences from Marcus Isaac Bandong/Rappler.com
