Bagong Henerasyon Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera (Rep. Herrera's office)

Pasig congressional candidate lawyer Christian Sia's antics have caused a ranking congresswoman to call for a House inquiry on the enforcement of the Safe Spaces Act.

Bagong Henerasyon (BH) Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera has filed House Resolution (HR) No. 2260, which calls for a probe to examine how government agencies are implementing Republic Act (RA) No.11313, with the end in view of “strengthening the law’s enforcement and imposing accountability on public figures who promote sexual harassment and discriminatory conduct".

Sia recently gained notoriety over a supposed demeaning joke about single mothers, which he cracked during a campaign sortie

In a viral video, Sia basically told single mothers who have just had their period to register so he could have sex with them.

Herrera, a House deputy majority leader, described Sia's joke as "sexist", and his behavior "deeply troubling".

“These public statements constitute gender-based harassment and discrimination, particularly against solo mothers and women in the nursing profession, and are violative of the core principles enshrined in the Safe Spaces Act,” Herrera said.

According to the long-time party-list lawmaker, the incident underscores broader problems in how the law is being enforced. 

“The widespread circulation and normalization of these remarks, especially during the election period, call into question the effectiveness of the law’s enforcement mechanisms, particularly in monitoring, preventing, and penalizing acts committed by public officials and candidates,” she pointed out.

While the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has issued a show cause order to Sia for possible election offenses and violations of Comelec Resolution No. 11116 on gender-sensitive campaigning, Herrera said “no definitive institutional response has been enacted under the Safe Spaces Act itself."

She warned that there is “an urgent need to assess” whether relevant agencies, including the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Comelec, and local government units (LGU), “have clear protocols and adequate authority to investigate, respond to, and penalize such violations when committed by public officials and political candidates".

Herrera’s resolution further stated that “This moment provides an opportunity to review existing gaps in the implementation of [RA 11313], clarify the roles of enforcement agencies, and explore possible amendments that would strengthen accountability, especially in public and political spaces.”

The resolution urged the House to “recommend measures that will ensure effective enforcement, institutional accountability, and protection of vulnerable and marginalized sectors from gender-based harassment in all settings".