During a March 3, 2026, Senate hearing, Senator Jinggoy Estrada asked American basketball player Elizabeth Means if she had a Filipino boyfriend while discussing her naturalization to play for Gilas Pilipinas Women. The comment drew widespread criticism amid National Women’s Month, highlighting misogynistic norms. Means and teammate Malick Diouf's bills later passed their third and final Senate reading.
On March 3, 2026, during a Senate committee on justice and human rights hearing on Senate Bill 1594 and HB 5813, 23-year-old American basketball player Elizabeth Means, a 6-foot forward from Westminster University (US NCAA Division II) and recent leader of Pilipinas Aguilas to the 2026 3×3 BITL title in Bangkok (6-0 record with Filipina teammates Mikka Cacho, Trina Guytingco, and Camille Malagar), appeared alongside former UAAP MVP Malick Diouf seeking naturalization to join Gilas Pilipinas Women.
In an awkward exchange, Senator Jinggoy Estrada asked Means: “Do you have a Filipino boyfriend?” She replied: “Not yet po.” Estrada added: “Maybe Senator (Kiko) Pangilinan might want to apply,” and “Sorry kay Sharon,” prompting Senator Pangilinan to respond: “Magagalit ’yung commander,” referring to his wife, Sharon Cuneta.
The remarks ignited backlash on social media and from advocates, especially during National Women’s Month. Filmmaker Jun Lana posted on X: “When will our leaders realize that their casual sexism is a national embarrassment?” Ceej Tantengco-Malolos, founder of Go Hard Girls, called it “a microcosm of society’s misogynistic norms, especially in male-dominated spaces like politics and sports,” adding: “A 63-year-old creepily asking a 24-year-old about her personal life is not appropriate... This is bigger than Jinggoy Estrada; respect for women is treated as optional.”
Mau Belen, the first female PBA coach and 3×3 national team coach, noted it shows “how women in sports are sometimes still talked about or treated.” Sharon Cabusao Silva of Lila Pilipina emphasized women athletes' role in breaking traditional gender roles. The incident echoed Quezon City Rep. Bong Suntay's sexual fantasy comment about actress Anne Curtis during VP Sara Duterte’s impeachment deliberations that week.
Though Means and Diouf's naturalization bills passed their third Senate reading, no official apology from Estrada has been recorded. Advocates urge dialogue on lawmakers' conduct: “There should be a conversation about showing up to jobs without such jokes in work settings,” said Tantengco-Malolos.
