Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto brushed aside allegations made by Pasig congressional aspirant Ian Sia that he and his team were behind the now viral video showing the candidate making a lewd joke about single mothers during a campaign sortie on Friday, April 4.

"Marami namang nagme-mention ng pangalan ko eh so it doesn't really matter. Ang importante focused tayo sa ginagawa natin, lalo na ako nakaupo, so focus padin sa trabaho. Hindi naman natatapos o hindi naman humihinto ang trabaho dahil may campaign period so dire-diretso lang (There are a lot of people mentioning my name so it doesn't really matter. What matters most is that we remain focused on doing our job, especially me since I'm an elected official. Our tasks and responsibilities don't stop because of the campaign period so we just have to keep on going)," Sotto said.

During his campaign event on April 3, Sia made lewd remarks about single mothers, which raised eyebrows and earned condemnation from netizens and the public as well.

"Minsan sa isang taon ang mga solo parent na babae na nireregla pa… Nay, malinaw, nireregla pa—at nalulungkot, minsan sa isang taon, pwede pong sumiping sa akin. Yun pong interesado magpalista na po dito sa table sa gilid (Sometimes, once a year, female solo parents who are still menstruating… Ma'm, it's clear, still menstruating—and feeling sad, sometimes once a year, they can sleep with me. Those interested in signing up, please go to the table on the side).” Sia said.

According to him, his remark was just a joke to keep the impatient audience engaged.

“Nais ko po sanang linawin ang aking sinabi sa video. Sa pamamagitan ng isang biro, ang layunin ko lamang po ay makuha ang atensyon ng mga tao, dahil sila po ay naiinip na, upang mas madali nilang maintindihan ang mga mahahalagang mensahe na kailangan nating pag-usapan (I would like to clarify what I said in the video. Through a joke, my intention was only to capture the attention of people who were getting impatient so they could better understand the important messages we need to discuss),” he said.

“Ngunit ako ay nakasakit sa aking sinabi, humihingi po ako ng taos-pusong dispensa (However, I realized that my words were hurtful, and I sincerely apologize),” he added.

Offensive and Disrespectful

Pasig City Councilor Angelu de Leon slammed Sia on his remarks, saying that the city has no place for disrespectful people.

“Bawal ang bastos sa Pasig. Nakakagalit na sa katatapos lang ng buwan ng kababaihan, at ngayong buwan ng Abril kung kailan pambansang ipinagdiriwang at kinikilala ang ating mga solo parents, makakarinig tayo ng nakakabastos at nakakadiring pahayag sa mga babaeng solo parent sa isang pampublikong event — na nagmula pa mismo sa isang abogadong kumakandito para kongreso (Disrespect is not tolerated in Pasig. It is upsetting that just after Women’s Month, and during April when we nationally celebrate and recognize our solo parents, we hear offensive and disgusting remarks about solo mothers at a public event—coming from a lawyer who is running for congress),” she said.

“Bilang kasalukuyang chairperson ng Committee on Social Services and Solo Parent Affairs ng Sanggunian Panlungsod ng Pasig, at bilang isang babaeng minsan din naging isang solo parent, nararamdaman ko ang labis na inis at pagkadismaya ng kababaihan at mga solo parent sa mga pahayag na ito (As the current chairperson of the Committee on Social Services and Solo Parent Affairs of the Pasig City Council, and as a woman who has also been a solo parent, I deeply feel the anger and disappointment of women and solo parents regarding these remarks),” she added.

“Ang ganitong uri ng mga salita ay hindi lamang nakakainsulto sa mga kababaihan, kundi pati na rin sa ating lipunan (Such words are not only insulting to women, but also to our society),” she continued.

On Friday, April 4, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) issued a show cause order against Sia for him to explain his remarks.

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.