Palace fires back at suspended Rep. Kiko Barzaga

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Tuesday accused Cavite 4th District Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Barzaga of using the name of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to justify his suspension from the House of Representatives.

These remarks came after Barzaga, in a Facebook post following the announcement of his suspension, claimed this move was due to speaking “against the plunder committed by President Marcos.”

READ: Kiko Barzaga suspended for 60 days as House adopts ethics panel report

“First of all, those lewd photos that he posted, the president was not with him when he did it. The president was not with him when he posted it, and those alleged disinformation against the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines], the president was not with him in his alleged disinformation,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said in Filipino.

“So, from what we see here, the name of President Marcos Jr. is only being used to justify his disinformation efforts,” she added.

During the plenary session on Monday, 4Ps party-list Rep. JC Abalos read the committee’s recommendations to impose a 60-day suspension against Barzaga.

“Ultimately, Mr. Speaker, based on these standards of conduct, the committee finds the social media posts on Facebook […] unbefitting of a House member. The respondent’s reckless, offensive, and irresponsible use of his social media platform tarnishes the name, integrity, and reputation of the House of Representatives,” Abalos said.

“Mr. Speaker, after a thorough deliberation on the case, the committee finds that the actions of Rep. Barzaga imposing incendiary social media contents on his Facebook accounts and retaining and failing to remove publicly-viewable inappropriate and indecent photos to be unparliamentary and unbecoming of a House member, taken in their entirety, the actions of Rep. Barzaga bring contempt, discredit, and disrepute to the name of the House,” he added.

The recommendation was then put to a vote, where 249 lawmakers voted in favor of adopting the committee report, five voted against it, and 11 abstained.

The ethics complaint stemmed from the Cavite solon’s alleged violation of the conduct expected of House members.

It was filed by several National Unity Party members, including chairperson and Antipolo City 1st District Rep. Ronaldo Puno.

Puno, in a press briefing last September 15, said that Barzaga’s social media posts, including lewd photos and an alleged ostentatious display of wealth, will be used as pieces of evidence for the ethics complaint. /gsg