Actor Robin Padilla. Photo: JAM STA ROSA / AFP
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".
Padilla, one of the country's most popular celebrities, ran for office in 2022 where he emerged as the country's top senatorial candidate.
Padilla, who was 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 Kapunan, he asked if a husband could ask his wife for sex if he was "in the mood" and she was 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," Padilla said in Tagalog.
Kapunan said in such circumstances, husbands should instead "seek counselling, pray or watch Netflix".
He then added that some husbands felt that their wives were there to "serve" them, to which Kapunan responded that it was "not the wife's obligation to serve her husband".
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 Padilla's comments served as an argument to finally legalise divorce in the country.
Eight in 10 of the Philippines' 110 million people were Catholic, which deeply influenced views on marriage and family. It was the only country in the world, aside from the Vatican, where divorce was illegal.
Padilla was 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 possession 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, was also an actress and model in the Philippines.
In 2022, 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.
- BBC News