"Na-ano lang"
During yesterday's confirmation hearing, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Judy Taguiwalo became the target of an unwelcome remark from Senator Tito Sotto.
Sotto quipped, "Just on the lighter side, Senator Drilon and I were looking at the personal info about you. You have two children – daughters or sons?" Sotto asked, to which she replied that she had two daughters.
"But you're single?" he adds.
"Ah okay, my life has never been a normal one. I never had a whole mother-father-children kind of thing, except when I was growing up in Bacolod. Remember I graduated from UP in 1970, I did organizing work," shared Taguiwalo, who added that during Martial Law, she spent most of her life underground, or in prison. "So, well, my story would be different from the stories of those who have gone through corporations, et cetera."
"In the street language, when you have children and you are single, ang tawag lang ay na-ano lang," a remark which earned Sotto the ire of numerous celebrities and netizens for his crass and disrespectful remark. Taguiwalo then replied with "Senator Sotto, I teach women's studies. We respect all kinds of families and that includes solo parents. Thank you."
Go to the next page to learn what celebrities and netizens have to say.
Celebrities and netizens were quick to defend single parents
Offended by the senator's remarks towards single parents, celebrities and netizens went online to show their dissatisfaction and to defend single parents.
Comedienne Pokwang, a single mom herself, shares what she thinks of single mothers.
Celebrity mom Bianca Gonzales also shared her support for solo parents:
Other netizens also chimed in on the issue:
Go to the next page to learn about Senator Sotto's statement regarding what he said during the hearing.
Sotto apologized for his remarks
Partly due to the backlash that he received online because of his remarks, Sotto has released a statement apologizing for his remarks during the hearing.
However, he still insisted that his comment was a joke. "As I’ve said it was meant as a joke and everybody in the hall, almost everybody laughed. I don’t think it was done disrespectfully," he claims. He added, "But as I said, just to drive home the point, if they are offended then I apologize."
When asked about the criticisms that he received online, the senator said: "Some people are overly sensitive or perhaps they didn’t realize it was the CA, therefore anything under the sun, even your socks I can question.”
He adds, "So then perhaps these are just people who are really not my fans so to speak."
Sources: rappler.com, news.mb.com.ph
READ: Sotto twits DSWD chief Judy Taguiwalo during confirmation hearing, calls single moms “na-ano lang”
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