MARCH 6, 2026 — Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio just lit a firestorm after admitting on air that he used to lust after former Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago — earning him the label “manyak” from Gabriela Women’s Party. The remark, made while defending Rep. Bong Suntay’s controversial “sexual fantasy” analogy involving actress Anne Curtis, has now spiraled into a bigger debate about misogyny in politics.

Topacio argued “Lalaki ‘yan, ‘wag na tayong magplastikan, ang mga lalaki nagnanasa ‘yan talaga” 

(He’s a man, let’s not pretend, men really lust.)

He then doubled down, saying men are “wired” to have sexual desires. To prove his point, he admitted he once lusted after Elago and that he didn’t care if people got mad at him for saying so.

Gabriela’s response was swift and scathing. In a statement, the group denounced his “misogynistic” tirade, calling him a “manyak” and warning of possible legal action. 

“Hindi na ito nakakagulat mula sa isang abogado kuno na may mahabang track record sa panre-redtag at pambabastos sa kababaihan,” Gabriela said.

(This is no longer surprising from a so-called lawyer with a long track record of red-tagging and disrespecting women.)

Meanwhile, Suntay — whose analogy sparked the mess in the first place — has already apologized (although most might consider his statements as a ‘non-apology’), admitting he could have chosen a better example to defend Vice President Sara Duterte’s “imagined” threat against President Marcos Jr. But apologies don’t erase the fact that women keep getting dragged into fantasies and punchlines inside the halls of power.

The thing is, every time remarks like these are brushed off as “natural male behavior,” it reinforces a toxic, ‘macho’ culture that sidelines women and normalizes harassment. If lawyers and lawmakers can casually talk this way in public, what does it say about the respect women can expect behind closed doors?

Are we finally going to call out powerful men who treat misogyny like a punchline, or will we just keep letting them laugh their way off the hook?

(Image: Wikipedia)