Manila, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – There’s a new scandal brewing in the Philippines. It’s called Mistressgate (you know, like Watergate). The pork barrel scandal was so yesterday!

The scandal revolves around a dating service site on the Internet involving married people. It’s called Ashley Madison, described on its website as “the world’s leading married dating service for discreet encounters.”

Justice Secretary  Leila De Lima, with full backing from the Catholic Church in the Philippines, is considering blocking the site from the Internet in the Philippines, arguing that extra-marital affairs could lead to divorce.

Both extra-marital affairs and divorce are illegal in the country, and is against the Catholic Church’s teachings.

Enter Vice President Jenomar Binay, with the backing of an overwhelming number of male politicians, from senators and congressmen to governors and mayors. “We have to protect freedom of speech and the integrity of the Internet,” Binay said, as he and his fellow politicians vowed to block any move by the Justice Department to ban the married dating site.

Observers say that this is looming as the greatest political and religious comfrontation the Philippines has ever seen because it cuts right through the country’s pervasive yet hush-hush machismo culture.

Most of the politicians backing Binay are known to have mistresses, publicly or privately. Including Binay.