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Lawmaker expresses support for Chavit's ‘victim’


A party-list group representing the women’s sector at the House of Representatives on Thursday took up the cudgels for Rachel Tiongson, the live-in partner of deputy national security adviser Luis “Chavit" Singson whom he beat up in a fit of rage. “By Singson's own admission that he did beat up his live-in partner and said that she was even lucky because she was alive shows that he may be liable under the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Law (RA 9262)," said Gabriela Representative Liza Maza. Maza said any form of violence against women is “condemnable much more if the perpetrator is someone who is holding office." Maza, one of the co-authors of the Anti-VAWC, expressed her support for Tiongson and acknowledged her courage in asserting her rights. “In a macho society, women are treated as objects and possessions of men, that is why a law such as Anti-VAWC is in place to protect women from violence and abuse that emanates from this view," Maza stressed. Singson said on Wednesday that he had beaten up Tiongson and her lover, whom he did not identify, after catching them in bed. He said he did not regret hurting Tiongson, with whom he has five children. Tiongson filed a complaint against Singson for domestic violence and physical abuse. Singson was instrumental in the downfall of the Estrada regime in 2001 when he testified about then-President Joseph Estrada's illegal gambling activities. He is a former governor of Ilocos Sur. - GMANews.TV