Barzaga Complies With House Ultimatum, Takes Down Lewd Posts

Suspended Cavite 4th Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Barzaga took down on Tuesday, Dec. 2, Facebook posts on his personal and official accounts that were deemed improper by his colleagues, following a 24-hour ultimatum given by the House ethics panel on Monday night, Dec. 1.

“As per our committee report, it is very possible that a harsher penalty might be imposed upon him,” ethics panel chair and 4Ps party-list Rep. Jonathan Clement Abalos said moments before Barzaga removed the social media posts.

Barzaga was slapped with a 60-day suspension with no pay and benefits as a result of his disorderly behavior in the House, where he showed “conduct unbecoming of a member of the bicameral Congress,” Abalos said.

Abalos also warned Barzaga not to repeat the posts he made in his personal and official social media accounts, where there was disrespect for women for showing lewd photos, as well as ostentatious display of wealth by showing himself handling bundles of cash, among others.

Barzaga – who was present in the plenary hall on Monday – did not dispute the panel’s recommendations.

“I wholeheartedly accept the decision of the committee, but I maintain my stance that President Marcos must be held accountable for his crimes. Too many people have died, and too much money was plundered from the Filipino people for us to stand down now,” he said.

‘Leave Marcos out of it’

Commenting on Barzaga’s antics, Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro advised the suspended congressman to stop using the President to justify his disinformation.

Castro said President Marcos respects the decision of the House of Representatives even as she disputed Barzaga’s claim that the Marcos administration was behind his suspension.

“First of all, the President was not with him when he posted those lewd photos, the President was not with him when he posted those alleged disinformation against the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), the President was also not with him when he made these disinformation,” the Palace press officer said.

“So, what we see here is he is using the name of President Marcos Jr. to justify his disinformation efforts,” she added.

GMRC

According to a University of the Philippines professor, Barzaga’s current ordeal boils down to good manners and right conduct, especially within the context of an institution like Congress.

“It’s not acceptable for one of your members to openly criticize or lower the level of the institution where you belong through actions that do not fit into what we normally expect of good manners and right conduct,” Ederson Tapia, professorial lecturer at the UP-National College of Public Administration and Governance, said over radio dzMM.

“While it is true that we all have a right to freely express ourselves, it is not absolute,” Tapia added.

The educator also contradicted Barzaga’s claim that the action against him was connected to his criticisms against President Marcos.

“A lot of it has nothing to do with his job as a congressman who promotes policy or the interests of the people because the allegations against him are quite serious and it has nothing to do with his role as a legislator,” Tapia noted.

Meanwhile, Construction Workers Solidarity party-list Rep. Edwin Gardiola slammed Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Leviste and his “co-conspirator” for what he called a “publicity stunt” designed to “rage-bait, ridicule and malign me for their own attention-seeking ends.”

A video of Gardiola shrugging off Leviste, who looked like he was asking for a selfie, circulated on social media on Monday.

Leviste has accused Gardiola of “pre-ordering” public works projects, which the latter denied. – With Helen Flores, Bella Cariaso, Jose Rodel Clapano