Kris and tell

Gone are the days of stereotypical eighteenth-century women who can’t seem to do anything for and by themselves.
Unfortunately, the Philippines’s very own justice secretary seems to be stuck in those days.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, one of the most loyal allies of embattled President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, recently came under heavy criticism for his “sexist” and “derogatory” statements about two very popular and influential women who had called for his boss’s resignation—Susan Roces (widow of Fernando Poe Jr., Mrs. Arroyo’s strongest rival in last year’s presidential election) and former president Corazon Aquino.

That Gonzalez didn’t seem to have enough sense of fairness and respect reflects very badly on the government agency he heads. As Dean O. de la Paz of BusinessWorld put it, “personality and persona are one in a public official” (“Sex and the Secretary,” July 7).

On the day Susan Roces angrily called for Mrs. Arroyo to resign, Gonzalez was asked by the media on possible charges against Roces. A smug-looking Gonzalez appeared on evening newscasts and simply dismissed Roces’s calls as statements of a “griping widow” whose late husband was clearly not destined to be President. He also said that Roces is “too beautiful to be sent to jail.”

The Philippine Daily Inquirer was the only broadsheet that ran an article on Gonzalez the next day (“’She’s too beautiful to be sent to jail’,” June 30). The article quoted a number of politicians who had things to say about Roces’s press conference but it was Gonzalez who stood out—enough to catch the ire of Gabriela Representative Liza Masa who said the justice secretary’s words “could have come from the dictionary of male chauvinist pigs.” Maza also demanded that Gonzalez apologize and resign as his “vulgar, disrespectful, and sexist” comments had tarnished the integrity of the Department of Justice (“Lawmaker warns Gonzalez on ‘male chauvinist’ mouth,” Inquirer, July 1).

Follow-up reports in The Philippine Star and Manila Bulletin quoted former senator Rene Saguisag also criticizing Gonzalez’s behavior.

The Star misquoted Gonzalez in its report that Gonzalez had called Roces a “grieving widow”—changing the context of Gonzalez’s original statement and lessening its impact (“Gonzalez chided for ‘sexist’ remarks vs Susan,” July 1).

Only about two weeks later the justice secretary was at it again. On former President Cory Aquino’s renewed call for Mrs. Arroyo to resign, Gonzalez commented that instead of trying to fix the country’s political situation, the former president should fix her controversial daughter’s life first. When asked whether the administration is monitoring the former President, Gonzalez said, “I think there is no need to monitor Cory Aquino because she’s also busy monitoring her own daughter” (“Cory told to fix Kris’ love affairs, not affairs of state,” Inquirer, July 14 and “Raul to Cory: Clean your backyard first,” Malaya, July 14).

Being one of the principal figures in restoring the country’s democracy, this comment drew more flak. News reports the next day (July 15) quoted politicians from both sides who slammed Gonzalez for his personal attacks on Mrs. Aquino and her daughter Kris.

Not surprisingly, Mrs. Aquino had no comment on the issue.

Also not surprising, controversial actress Kris Aquino had something to say. And she did say it—on nationwide television. On July 17, in the magazine show she co-hosts, “The Buzz,” Kris cried foul over Gonzalez’s derogatory remarks against her mother. She also “lectured” the justice secretary that “politics need not be dirty.” The younger Aquino expressed pain and regret for having hurt her mother as much as she had. Having humbled herself by admitting her faults, she proudly told Gonzalez that if he has nothing to criticize her mother for except her controversial affairs, “I’m sorry. My life is okay now; maganda na po ang buhay ko.”

The next day, the Manila Standard Today ran an article about Kris’s outpouring in “The Buzz.” The front-page article was accompanied by a big TV grab of an emotional Kris in “The Buzz.” A sobbing Kris “with mascara running down her cheeks” dominated the entire front page (“Sobbing Kris Aquino lashes out at justice secretary,” July 18).

The Star ran the entire transcript of Kris’s statements in its entertainment section the next day (“Kris to Gonzalez: Who are you to judge me?” July 19).

In its editorial on July 20, Standard Today commented, “True to form, the talk show host turned an insult into a nationally televised spectacle on her gossip program, crying at the affront and lecturing the justice secretary that politics need not be dirty. It’s a pity that message was clouded by showbiz melodrama and overkill.”

In his July 19 column in the Star, Federico D. Pascual Jr. described Gonzalez as an “aging warhorse who should be sent to pasture so he does not step anymore on krissy daisies.”

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