Misamis Oriental Gov. Unabia gets show cause order over derogatory remark vs nurses

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) issued a show cause order against Misamis Oriental Governor Peter Unabia over his derogatory remarks against nurses during a campaign event last April 3.

Comelec's Task Force on Safeguarding Against Fear and Exclusion in Elections (SAFE) issued the show cause order on Monday, April 7 against Unabia, a reelectionist, as it cited his comments against nurses.

"Kining nursing, para ra ni sa mga babaye, dili pwede ang lalaki. And, kato pa gyud mga babaye nga gwapa. Dili man pwede ang maot, kay kung kuya na ang mga lalaki, atubangon sa nga nurse, naunsa naman, mosamot atong sana," he said in Cebuano.

"(Nursing is only for women; men aren't allowed. And, only for beautiful women at that. Not for those who aren't good-looking, because if male patients are being taken care of by these nurses, what would happen? Their condition might even get worse)."

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.

This comes just after a show cause order was issued against Christian "Ian" Sia, who is running for Pasig lone district representative following his derogatory remarks against single mothers.