ILAN pang mga mambabatas ang bumatikos kay former Congressman Glenn Chong, isang linggo makaraan ang pahayag ng pananampal kay First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, na nataon din sa pagdiriwang ng Women’s Month.

Dismayado ang mga mambabatas na miyembro ng tinaguriang “Young Guns” sa ipinakitang kabastusan ni Chong na isa pa namang abogado at dating bahagi ng Mababang Kapulungan.

“It pains me because the one who made this statement publicly is a lawyer, one who is in the same profession, and it reflects on the legal profession,” ayon kay Assistant Majority Leader Raul Angelo “Jil” Bongalon, kinatawan ng Ako Bicol Party-list, at isa ring abogado.

Ayon kay Bongalon, ang ipinakitang asal ni Chong ay maaaring maging “grounds” para sa disbarment case dahil sa paglabag sa Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA) sa kaniyang propesyon bilang abogado.

“It (CPRA) states basically that we have duties not just to our clients, not just to the courts, but to the society in general. Iyun po kasi statement niya against First Lady Marcos is a reflection that is disrespectful, not because the appearances were made against the First Lady, but this attitude reflects towards women in general,” paliwanag pa ni Bongalon.

Giit pa ng mambabatas, dapat tingnan ng Korte Suprema ang ipinakitang pag-uugali ni Chong upang mapanatili ang pananagutan at integridad ng propesyon ng isang abogado.

Ang pananampal na pahayag ni Chong ay nangyari noong March 12 sa ginanap na prayer rally bilang pagsuporta sa Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) at kay Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy, makaraang ipag-utos ng dalawang Kapulungan ng Kongreso ang pag-aresto dahil na rin sa hindi pagsipot sa ginagawang magkahiwalay na imbestigasyon ng Kamara at Senado.

Sinabi naman ni Assistant Majority Leader at Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong na dapat na maintindihan ni Chong na ang kaniyang mga binitiwang salita ay hindi nababagay sa isang prayer rally.

“Ako, from an outsider, ang ine-expect ko really is the messaging is about love, unity. Kasi that’s what the Bible says, right? That’s what Christianity says,” ayon kay Adiong.

“And so to have somebody there on the platform speaking about how to mistreat a specific individual regardless of whether she is the First Lady or not is actually the exact opposite of what we from the outside looking at you Christians would hope to hear from you,” dagdag pa ng mambabatas.

“Coming from a former public servant, it’s not only unbecoming of him as a person but it’s also unbecoming of him as a Filipino and as a Christian,” ayon pa kay Adiong.

Sa panig naman ni Assistant Majority Leader Franscisco Paolo P. Ortega ng La Union, ang pag-uugaling ipinakita ni Chong sa prayer rally ay isang halimbawa kung paano niya tinatrato ang kababaihan, halimbawa na ang kaniyang asawa at ina.

“I’ll just answer this very short and sweet. Kung paano mo trinatrato ang mga napakaganda, empowered at saka mga mabubuting kababaihan ay repleksiyon iyan kung paano mo trinatrato ang nanay mo. Iyon lang ang masasabi ko,” ayon kay Ortega.

Sinang-ayunan din ni Deputy Speaker David “Jayjay” C. Suarez ng Quezon ang pahayag ng mga kasamahan, at tinanong kung ano ang mararamdaman ng kaniyang asawa at ina sa ganitong uri ng pahayag.

“Hindi ba disgust, hindi ba galit? I mean he used to be a congressman. What happened to his honorable ‘title’ that he holds? He’s a lawyer, he knows what’s wrong and what’s right. That has no place in Philippine society, to do that on TV, on stage, in front of millions of Filipinos, it has no place,” ayon kay Suarez.

“If there is any legal ground to find him, to penalize him, ako, I will support it. I will support it because I do think there is no place for that in Philippine society,” dagdag pa ng mambabatas.

Iginiit naman ni Davao Oriental Rep. Cheeno Miguel Almario na ang paggalang sa kababaihan ay isang universal language.

“To disrespect one in any private setting is already bad enough, what more when you bring it to the public setting whether there’s media coverage or not. There are people watching that I’m very sure, none of them expected that kind of remark coming from him as well,” ayon kay Almario.

Dagdag pa ng mambabatas: “It is also conduct unbecoming of a lawyer who is practicing that particular profession. So, kung may investigation, go!”