Quezon City 4th District Rep. Jesus “Bong” Suntay, who has come under fire for his controversial remark on “desiring” actress Anne Curtis during a committee hearing, recognized that the analogy he had used was offensive, but asserted that an analogy—albeit an innocuous one instead—was needed to get his point across.

The lawmaker, in an interview on Balansyado, said that while he apologizes to Curtis and to all women, his statement was taken out of context.

“Siyempre naga-apologize tayo kina Anne Curtis at tsaka sa mga kababaihan. The statement which I made doon sa analogy was taken out of context,” he said.

Suntay acknowledged he should have chosen an analogy that would not “ruffle” the public’s—particularly women’s—“sensitivities.”

He recalled that, before or during the hearing on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, a friend had texted him about watching a movie starring Anne Curtis with his wife, which is how the star came to mind.

The congressman explained that the specific words “desire” and “imagination” came from the recollection of Duterte’s confession to thinking about beheading President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“Kaya naman pumasok ‘yung word na ‘desire’ at ‘imagination’ dahil may video na pinakita at doon sa impeachment complaint, ginamit ‘yung desire raw ni VP Sara na pugutan ng ulo si BBM, na-imagine daw niyang ginawa niya ‘yun,” he told the anchor.

Suntay said that would have brought him to his point: that thought without “overt action” cannot be penalized.

“‘Yung punto, ang sabi ko lang, ‘You know, ‘yung desire at imagination, if there is no overt action, is not an impeachable offense.’ So gumawa lang ako ng analogy,” he said.

“Kasi ako, ang gusto kong palabasin noon, ‘yung statement na ‘yun maaring may naramdaman (akong) desire sa loob ko na nag-init. Ibig sabihin nakita ko lang si Anne, ang ganda-ganda pala niya, nagka-crush ako sa kanya. Na-imagine ko na girlfriend ko siya. Pero hindi naman pupuwede dahil may asawa ako. Puwede kaya ako kasuhan ng bigamy? ‘Yun ‘yung tatanong ko bago nag-adjourn,” he further explained.

Suntay lamented that the media and the public picked up on his statement but did not understand the point he had attempted to convey.

He urged the justice committee to act impartially and judge the impeachment complaints filed against Duterte by the same standards they used when deliberating on whether Marcos’ complaints were sufficient in substance.

In response to talks of being hit with an ethics complaint, the lawmaker felt that there could be no issue as his words have not been followed or preceded by “overt action.”

Suntay was the sole opposition vote in the approval of Duterte’s impeachment complaint.

“Alam mo, minsan, nasa Shangri-la ako, nakita ko si Anne Curtis, ang ganda-ganda pala niya. You know, may desire sa loob ko na nag-init talaga. Na-imagine ko na lang kung ano ang pwedeng mangyari. Pero syempre, hanggang imagination na lang ‘yun. Hindi naman siguro ako pwedeng kasuhan dahil kung anu-ano ‘yung na-imagine ko,” he had said during the hearing.