Backlash after Filipino MP says husbands have ‘sexual rights’

A senator in the Philippines has come under fire online after he asked in parliament whether husbands have “sexual rights” to their wives.

Robin Padilla, a former actor, posed the query to a prominent human rights lawyer, who was invited as a resource person to a hearing on sexual harassment in the entertainment industry.

He also asks what husbands should do if they are “in the mood” and their wives are not – to which lawyer Lorna Kapunan replies that they can “watch Netflix”.

Mr Padilla, one of the country’s most popular celebrities, ran for office in 2022 where he emerged as the country’s top senatorial candidate.

Mr Padilla, who is leading a Senate probe into complaints of sexual harrassments and abuse in the media industry, made the comments in a hearing on Thursday.

Speaking to Ms Kapunan, he asks if a husband can ask his wife for sex if he is “in the mood” and she is not.

“What if your wife does not want to? Is there no other way for husbands? If you look to other women, you might get sued,” Mr Padilla said in Tagalog.

Ms Kapunan said in such circumstances, husbands should instead “seek counselling, pray or watch Netflix”.

He then adds that some husbands feel that their wives are there to “serve” them, to which Ms Kapunan responds that it is “not the wife’s obligation to serve her husband”.

Mr Padilla’s comments sparked a barrage of online comments, with one calling him “disgusting”.

One comment on X said: “So does that make wives their husband’s personal sex workers?”

“Husbands do not have ‘sexual rights’ over their wives. Women have equal rights and free will. No means no. It’s all about respect,” said prominent human rights lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno in a post on X.

Another X user said Mr Padilla’s comments serves as an argument to finally legalise divorce in the country.

Eight in 10 of the Philippines’ 110 million people are Catholic, which deeply influences views on marriage and family. It is the only country in the world, aside from the Vatican, where divorce is illegal.

Mr Padilla is one of the country’s most popular celebrities. He rose to fame with Robinhood playboy roles in the 1990s before becoming an actor.

He was later convicted for illegal posession of firearms and was sentenced to eight years in jail before being pardoned. Afterwards, he resumed his movie and television career and became much loved for turning his life around.

His wife Mariel Padilla, a Filipino-born American, is also an actress and model in the Philippines.

In 2022, Mr Padilla decided to run for public office and topped the 2022 senatorial elections with 26 million votes, which gives him a platform to seek higher office.