Sen. Robinhood Padilla (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)
Does a husband have “sexual rights” over his wife when he is “in heat”?
Women’s group Gabriela on Friday lashed out at Sen. Robinhood Padilla for his “line of questioning,” “machismo” and “misogyny” after he sought to have sexual consent clarified in the context of the marital bedroom.
The former action star, who heads the Senate committee on public information and mass media, was conducting an inquiry on Thursday into sexual abuse allegations against two contractors of TV network GMA.
In the course of the hearing, Padilla asked lawyer Lorna Kapunan, who was invited to his panel as a resource person, what would be the lawful recourse for a husband whose wife turns down his “sudden sexual urge.”
READ: Padilla, Kapunan talk about sex: ‘Respect wife, pray, watch Netflix’
He continued: “For example, of course you can’t deny that there is this belief among married people that you have sexual rights over your wife. And you can’t tell when you are in heat. What if your wife doesn’t want to. Is there no other way to give in to the man? So what does he do? Will he just womanize? That would lead to a court case.”
‘Right to say no’
Padilla went on to explain that his questions were “normal” when it comes to marital relations. To which Kapunan replied that it is not the wife’s duty “to serve the husband.”
“If your spouse refuses, whether valid or not, you have to respect the decision of the wife or the husband,” she said.
“I think the issue there is not legal already. The issue is already psychosocial,” the lawyer also said.
Gabriela on Friday said Padilla’s “line of questioning … not only disrespects women but also trivializes the serious issue of consent.”
“A woman’s right to say no is fundamental and absolute, regardless of marital status,” the group’s secretary general Clarice Palce said.
Padilla’s “audacity to question a woman’s right to her own body is a glaring example of the deeply rooted machismo that continues to plague our society,” she added.
The group demanded a retraction of his “macho and dangerous statements.”
Padilla’s language
This was not the first time that Padilla, the topnotcher in the 2022 senatorial race, stirred controversy for his language in his chamber.
In February last year, the Commission on Human Rights criticized the former “Bad Boy” of Philippine movies for saying that children can “handle physical bullying,” adding that “physical torture” helped him face the challenges in life.
Regarding Padilla’s latest remarks, human rights lawyer Chel Diokno said on X: “Husbands do not have ‘sexual rights’ over their wives. All women have equal identity and control over themselves. No means no. That’s respect.”