The Commission on Elections (Comelec) issued on Friday, April 4, 2025, a show cause order against lawyer Christian "Ian" Sia, who is running for Pasig lone district representative, asking him to explain why a complaint for election offense and/or a petition for disqualification should not be filed against him for derogatory remarks he made about single mothers during a recent campaign sortie.

Comelec's Task Force on Safeguarding Against Fear and Exclusion in Elections (SAFE) cited Sia's comments about single mothers during a campaign event on April 3.

He was quoted saying: "Ito ang ambag ko sa mga solo aprent ng Pasig. Minsan sa isang taon, ang mga solo parent na babae na nireregla pa. Nay, malinaw nireregla pa, at nalulungkot. Minsan sa isang taon puwede sumiping ho sa akin (This is my contribution to the single parents of Pasig. Once a year, the single mothers who are still menstruating. Ma'am, to be clear, those who still menstruate or feel sad. Once a year, they can sleep with me)."

The task force said that this constitutes a possible violation of Comelec Resolution No. 11116 or the Anti-Discrimination and Fair Campaigning Guidelines for Purposes of the May 2025 National and Local Elections and BARMM Parliamentary Elections.

Under Section 3 of the resolution, during the election period, any person who, directly or indirectly, commits acts of bullying on the basis of HIV status, coercion, discrimination against women, discrimination against PWDs on the use of public accommodations, gender-based harassment, labeling, public ridicule against PWDs, vilification of PWDs, violation of an anti-discrimination ordinance, and/or violation of rights to religious, cultural sites and ceremonies as defined under Section2 of this Resolution shall be liable for an election offense.

The resolution states that this is pursuant to Sec. 13 of Republic Act (RA) 9006 and Section 261 (e) of the Omnibus Election Code and other pertinent laws, rules and regulations.

"In view of the foregoing, you are hereby ordered to show cause in writing within a non-extendible period of three (3) days from the receipt thereof to explain why a complaint for election offense and/or a petition for disqualification should not be filed against you," the task force said.

In an interview on Teleradyo Serbisyo, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia expressed disappointment over the joke made by Sia calling it "unfair" to women.

“Paano  na lang kung may nakapanood at sadyang makapanood na mga bata na sasabihin, ‘OK lang pala na ganyang bastusan na lang tayo pag ka nasa entablado.’ Kahit na sabihin nagbibiro ‘yan, hindi ho tamang biro ‘yan (What if there are children watching or who happen to watch and say, 'It's okay to be disrespectful like that when we're on stage'? Even if they say it jokingly, that's not an appropriate joke),” Garcia said.

"Pag pinabayaan naman po namin, napaka-walang kwenta naman po ng Comelec kung ‘yung ganyang mga biro lang papayagan at hahayaan lang natin. Sa atin pong palagay, kailangan mag-aksyon ang Comelec (If we let it slide, it would look like Comelec is worthless by allowing jokes like that to go unaddressed. For Comelec, this is something that we should act on)," he added.

Garcia said that if they allow something like this, candidates will continue to make jokes directed towards religion, people with disabilities, the elderly, and certain vulnerable sectors.

“Wag na po tayo mag eleksyon kung ganyan din lang naman na hindi na election, joke na lang ang ihalal natin dito. Kung sino may pinakamagandang joke at pinakabastos na joke, ‘yun na lang ang paraan ng paghalal (Let's not hold elections if it's just going to be like this, where it's not really an election at all. We might as well just elect based on jokes. Whoever has the best or the most disrespectful joke should be the way we choose),” he added.