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Netizens react to Tito Sotto’s appalling comments about single mothers

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In case you missed it, Tito Sotto once again earned the ire of people online— this time, because of remarks he made at the senate during the confirmation hearing for DSWD Sec. Judy Taguiwalo. As his last question in the hearing, Sotto asked the Secretary about the fact that she has two children but no husband. Sec. Judy graciously responded and explained that she has never had a “normal” family aside from the one she grew up in. She recounted that right after graduating from UP, she did organizing work and spent years of her life either underground or in prison during the Marcos regime.

Sotto, who has never been faced with such trying times in his life, and certainly has not shown the same amount of dedication and passion for this country as Taguiwalo has as an activist during the martial law years, thought that such a topic was “on the lighter side” and can be seen snickering as the Secretary answered his question.

Sotto then said to Taguiwalo: “In street language… when you have children and you are single, ang tawag ‘dun ay na-ano lang.”  He then thanked the secretary and said that she had his full support.

But the DSWD secretary did not let his remark go unanswered. “Senator Sotto, I teach Women’s Studies in UP. We respect all kinds of families and that includes solo parents,” she said.

Netizens as well as some well-known personalities were enraged by Sotto’s uncouth remarks. Here are some of their reactions from Twitter:

The Gabriela Women’s Partylist has released a statement regarding the issue, demanding an apology from Sotto and commending Sec. Taguiwalo for standing her ground. Here’s the statement:

 

Sec. Taguiwalo’s quick response to such an insult is indeed commendable. But it begs the question: Why do qualified women still have to answer to such insensitive and unintelligent remarks from people who got into office for being a popular goof during the ‘90s? More importantly, why do we let people like him run our country?

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of InqPOP! and INQUIRER.net.

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