FMA Joins Women’s Groups Demanding Perpetrators’ Accountability on International Women’s Day 2026

The World March of Women – Pilipinas leaders filed an administrative and criminal complaint, based on several laws, against House Representative Jesus “Bong” Suntay after a series of sexually objectifying remarks against an actor, subsequently justifying the same and blaming the “offended” sectors for allegedly “misunderstanding the context.”

Justice can be gained only when perpetrators of sexual violence against women are held accountable. This was the main call of women in the Philippines and globally in this year’s International Women’s Day.

WMW-Pilipinas also dramatized this call on March 6, Friday, by symbolically putting in a mock-up jail the ‘perpetrators’ in front of the Office of the Ombudsman.’

For World March of Women-Pilipinas, without accountability, the cycle of violence continues especially because the perpetrators are in powerful positions in society and politics, as the Epstein files have recently shown. Sexual violence has affected women and children from all walks of life, particularly from the basic sectors.

“It is critical that women of the world and their allies unify and hold the elite and the patriarchs in power accountable for sexual violence. The Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa – Women (SENTRO Women) joins World March of Women-Pilipinas, fellow feminists and social movements to demand the imprisonment of all who perpetuate violence against both women and children,” Nicey Coronacion of SENTRO Women asserted.

She also said that they “will continue to be part of global movements for women’s liberation and empowerment and persevere until the abusers are punished, and until systems are changed for women’s liberation.”

Jean Enriquez, national coordinator of World March of Women (WMW) – Pilipinas, said “enough with the evasion of accountability by male politicians. She added that they hold “this most important action on International Women’s Day in the face of noise that male perpetrators of sexual violence create to cover up their sexual crimes.”

“Trump created wars against Iran and Lebanon, while Duterte had his war on drugs. And up to now, Duterte’s clones in the Philippines fabricate charges against progressive legislators and demonize the witnesses to and victims of extra-judicial killings,” added Enriquez.

Enriquez also stressed that “We march today to hold male power accountable not only in the face of widespread corruption but in the face of sexual violence in the Philippines, as Duterte normalized it since 2016.”

Technological advancement has also created digital platforms for social violence. Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA) attests to the prevalence of such violence in these platforms.

“On this National Women’s Month, we are reminded that digital spaces are not separate from real life, they are extensions of it. The rise of platforms such as OnlyFans, the banning or restriction of secure messaging applications, and the increasing cases of technology-facilitated gender-based violence all highlight the urgent need to examine how gender and power operate in digital spaces, and hold perpetrators of digital-based abuse accountable, as seen in the case of Jeffrey Epstein that further exposed how systems of power, exploitation, and silence can enable abuse, both offline and online,” said Thina Lopez, Program Officer of FMA.

FMA also asserts that “as technology continues to shape relationships, livelihoods, and expression, it is crucial that policies and platforms center women’s safety, agency, and digital rights – ensuring that the internet becomes a space of empowerment, not harm.”

Amparo Miciano, of Pambansang Koalisyon ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK) elaborated on the vulnerability of women and children to abuse. “As we commemorate International Women’s Day, we lament that rural women continue to carry the weight of multi-burden crises created by powerful men who wage war on gender equality: the unpaid labor, the unequal pay, the land and water grabbing and silenced voices, and the leadership structures that exclude us,” said Miciano. “These are not accidents but a result of a system of greed and disempowerment that must be dismantled,” she stressed. “The real struggle for women’s liberation is the fight to eliminate these systems, not reinforce them,” added Miciano.

Jelen Paclarin, Executive Director of Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau (WLB) stated, “From the revelations in the Epstein case to the incident involving Bong Suntay, acts of sexual violence and sexist behavior against women and girls continue to be normalized, as though they are an inevitable part of women’s daily lives.” “We refuse to accept this reality – we will not be silenced, and we demand accountability,” added Paclarin. She added that sexism has no place in our society, and that the lewd remarks made by Bong Suntay are unacceptable and must not be tolerated. “Public office demands the highest standards of accountability, and any conduct that demeans women must be addressed under Philippine law, therefore, Bong Suntay must be held accountable before the Philippine court,” stated Paclarin.

“Sexism and sexual violence permeate the halls of Congress, all the way through the rural and indigenous communities. For Indigenous women, male power is exerted and perpetuated through the land encroachment of mining companies, ignoring women in consultations, if any. It is this objectification of women that brings about sexual violence against indigenous women and girls at home, and in areas where so-called development projects, such as mining, are implemented. We have to stand up against sexual violence against all women, in all of its forms,” asserted by Judith A. Pasimio, Coordinator of LILAK (Purple Action of Indigenous Women’s Rights).

Ana Maria Nemenzo, National Coordinator of WomanHealth Philippines declared that women cannot fully realize true reproductive freedom unless their right to make decisions over their own bodies is recognized and respected. “Perpetrators of misogyny, sexual violence and commodification of women that strike at the core of women’s bodily autonomy and integrity become all the more reprehensible when perpetuated no less by men in power and government officials,” added Nemenzo. She stated that there must be no tolerance for these acts and offenses.

During the program where other organizations joined such as Bagong Kamalayan Prostitution Survivors’ Collective, Center for Media Advocacy, Youth and Students Advancing Gender (YSAGE), and human rights groups, a ritual was performed to reinforce sisterhood while invoking the power of ancestors or grandmothers, along the call of the Philippine Commission on Women to let the “Babaylanes lead.”