Padilla maintains he is not condoning abuse in marriage

After getting flak from his comments during a Senate hearing on marital rape, Senator Robin Padilla underscored that he does not condone abuse within the bounds of marriage.

A press release from his camp said Padilla “firmly upholds that marital rape is a serious crime, and in no way does he condone or promote any form of violence, coercion, or abuse within the bounds of marriage.”

Padilla had issued an apology to those offended by some of his statements during the Senate hearing on marital rape last Thursday.

"Sa mga na offend po o hindi nagustuhan ang aming pagdinig patungkol sa marital rape… Mga kababayan, paumanhin po,” he said in a Facebook statement on Saturday.

(To those who were offended or did not like our hearing on marital rape… Fellow citizens, I apologize)

In a statement on Facebook, Padilla said that he never said that it was “okay” for husbands to force wives to have sex.

Padilla cited the Christian Bible, saying that it teaches that each spouse had conjugal rights to enjoy a healthy sexual relationship, while Muslims believe that husbands must have intercourse that satisfies their wives without harm to their own selves.

He added that it was traditionally recommended by Islamic scholars for married couples to have sex at least once every four months, while some recommended once a month, every four days, or no time limit.

The senator’s camp said the situation described by Padilla was in no way indicative of his actions, beliefs, or an account of his personal experiences.

The camp called it as simply a hypothetical question “meant to elicit the correct response from the resource person; and for the purpose of educating couples experiencing such challenges in their marital life.” —Anna Felicia Bajo/KG, GMA Integrated News