By Jose Mario D. De Vega, Asian Center, University of the Philippines-Diliman
THEY SHOULD GET A LIFE.” This was the headline of a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, regarding the reaction of a female member of the prosecution panel.
According to the report itself:
San Juan City Rep. Ysabel Maria “Bel” Zamora says she does not pay attention to the bashing and misogynistic comments she received after leading the direct examination of a prosecution witness during Monday’s impeachment trial, saying she remains focused on doing her job.
I maintain that this is yet another manifestation of the bankrupt, feudal and utterly garbage characteristics of Barangay Pinas’ decaying decadent “culture.”
I wish to emphasize that this issue has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the person involved is a woman.
It is deeply saddening that many of the damned zombies in this “country” remain extraordinarily backward, dysfunctional and burdened by Jurassic-era myopic views. It is neither desirable nor acceptable to make remarks insinuating that this woman is “flirtatious,” “seductive,” or “trying to entice” others. In Filipino words, it is even sickening to hear: “kiri,” “malandi,” “mapang-akit,” etc.
One cannot help but wonder: do these same bloody creatures speak the same disgusting way about their grandmothers, mothers, sisters, wives and even their daughters?
Barangay Pinas is truly embarrassing. Bloody f--k! Bloody h--l! What a colossal and shameful disgrace!
I would also like to stress that, politically speaking, I do not support the clan from which this woman comes. She is a direct product of a political dynasty, a family of power, privilege and entrenched influence. Yet this precisely reinforces my central point.
If a woman who comes from a political dynasty, who is affluent, wealthy, educated, a lawyer, a congresswoman and even a member of the prosecution panel in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, can still be subjected to discrimination, belittlement, sexist remarks, misogynistic comments and chauvinistic attacks, then one must ask:
What more of ordinary women like “Mila” in the schools, “Halina” in the factories, “Nena” in the entertainment establishments and countless other daughters of Eve living within our utterly rotten social order?
We, as a people, never dealt decisively and definitively with the atrocities and human rights abuses committed during the Marcos regime of more than 20 years. That is the painful truth. Added to this were the six years we spent under the Darkness during the era of Mang Kanor, when not only were we subjected daily to vulgarity emanating from his foul and filthy mouth, but we also witnessed a constant stream of misogynistic, demeaning and offensive remarks directed against women.
The culture of impunity was never dealt a final blow nor thoroughly eradicated. Consequently, we have been unable to move forward as a society. The prevailing culture of corruption today stems from this unchecked impunity, prejudice and discrimination that continues to persist. By confronting the past and uprooting the culture of barbarism, barrioism and backwardism, we may yet move forward.
We must reclaim and utterly crush the rotten and bankrupt “cultures” that we inherited from colonialism, from the sinister Marcos dictatorship and likewise from the dark Duterte evil regime. That is our task collectively as a people and responsible citizens.
It is tragic that we came and emerged from a largely matriarchal cultural tradition, only to become patriarchal, feudal and medieval because of the consequences of damnable colonialism, internal dictatorship and authoritarianism.
It may be redundant to say so, but what we need is a revolt of consciousness, a transformative awakening, a cultural revolution, if you will. We must absorb and cultivate the noble elements of our historical culture while rejecting and discarding the rubbish and cobwebs of our past. We must enrich ourselves with the finest knowledge, achievements and wisdom of global civilization.
I strongly agree with the statement of my brother, Professor Gerry Lanuza of the Department of Sociology at the University of the Philippines-Diliman:
In The Holy Family (1845), Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels used the emancipation of women as a measure of general human emancipation:
“The degree of emancipation of woman is the natural measure of general emancipation.”
Therefore, Bel Zamora may be criticized for her politics, her arguments, her class position, the institutions she represents and her political interests, but when the attack focuses on a woman’s voice, accent, body, mannerisms, or sexuality, that becomes an entirely different matter.
At that point, you are no longer analyzing social relations. You are turning a woman into an object of ridicule simply because she is a woman.
And if you consider yourself a Marxist, then you should understand that the emancipation of women cannot be separated from the emancipation of society itself.
The attacks against Prosecutor Zamora merely expose the decay of a society that has been left to rot by the DDS. Our public sphere has been profoundly corrupted and putrefied by DDS politics.
In conclusion, the liberation of Barangay Pinas from all forms of discrimination, barbarism, exploitation and injustices can never be fully achieved and realized -- unless women themselves are likewise liberated.
