Comelec calls out Manila bet over suggestive jingle
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has asked Manila city council candidate Mocha Uson to explain the sexually suggestive tone and content of some of the materials, including a controversial jingle, being used in her political campaign.
“While we understand that political campaigns often aim to capture the attention and engage voters, we believe it is crucial to approach the electorate with messages that are direct to the point,” Task Force Safe (Safeguarding Against Fear and Exclusion in Elections) said in a letter to Uson dated April 8.
The letter was written by Comelec Director Sonia Bea Wee Lozada who heads the task force.
“Puns and double meanings may be used as literary devises in campaigns but we hope that these are not used to distract from your political platform or skirt the line between accepted speech and obscenity, as we are in the context of elections,” the task force said.
It also reminded Uson that “sexually suggestive elements in your campaign can detract from the serious discussions we need to have about policy, governance, and the future of our communities.”
Uson’s campaign jingle plays on the word “cookie’’ as it rhymes with a Filipino term for the female genitalia.
Pattern of misogyny
Women’s group Gabriela has singled out Uson’s jingle as it condemned the “continuing pattern of misogyny and objectification of women” in the ongoing election campaign.
“The use of sexually suggestive campaign jingles and materials only reinforces the harmful objectification of women’s bodies and reduces them to sexual objects rather than dignified human beings with political agency,” said Gabriela secretary general Clarice Palce in a statement on Wednesday.
The group reiterated that women, children, as well as members of the LGBTQ+ community, “need and deserve better from those seeking office, especially since they bear the brunt of the dire socioeconomic crisis in the country.”
“We need candidates who will champion policies that genuinely uplift women’s conditions—living wages, affordable health care, protection from violence and equal opportunities—not those who trivialize women’s issues or use women’s bodies to gain attention,” Palce said.
The Comelec task force said it was not devaluing sexuality issues but advised Uson to “reflect on the impact” of her campaign approach and “make choices that elevate political participation and discourse.”
Uson, in a letter on Wednesday, informed the task force that she has instructed her campaign team to immediately halt the use of the materials in question.
“We are currently reviewing all our content to ensure that it aligns with the standards of decency and appropriateness expected in public discourse and electoral engagement,” she said.
“I fully recognize the importance of maintaining a respectful, inclusive, and age-appropriate tone in all campaign communications,” she added.
Uson, 46, is a media personality and blogger, who served several government positions in the Duterte administration. She cofounded the all-female singing and dancing group Mocha Girls.
She gained online notoriety for gaffes and sexuality-explicit remarks, and has also been accused of spreading fake news, misinformation and Red-tagging.
More offenders
Uson is not the only candidate to get in trouble with the Comelec.
The task force on Wednesday issued a show-cause order (SCO) to Davao de Oro Rep. Ruwel Peter Gonzaga, who is running for governor of the province, for alleged lewd and misogynistic remarks made in three separate incidents. In one of the incidents, Gonzaga told a woman to “spread your legs.”
The task force said Gonzaga’s acts may constitute violation of Comelec Resolution No. 11116, which prohibits, among other things, discrimination against women and gender-based harassment. Such acts could be grounds for disqualification, an election offense charge, or both.
Pasig congressional candidate Christian Sia, who has been served an SCO earlier, questioned Resolution 11116. He said it suffered from “constitutional infirmity” as it seeks to implement, among other laws, the Magna Carta for Women and Safe Spaces Act. He said this was already outside the Comelec’s jurisdiction.
Second SCO for Sia
Sia also argued that he did not commit any violation, adding, “While the language and tone were indeed conversation with the use of everyday banter one would expect from ordinary people, may statements were not made to discriminate, exclude, restrict, demean or harass female solo parents.”
Sia was served a second SCO on Tuesday over another set of remarks that he made in another campaign sortie where he defended himself from his remarks about single mothers.
Misamis Oriental Gov. Peter Unabia, a reelectionist, has earlier been called out for his remarks against the Maranao community and remarking that nursing is “only for beautiful women.”
