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The House of Representatives has expelled Cavite 4th District Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Barzaga over disorderly behavior and conduct unbecoming of a House member, including repeated failure to perform his duty as a lawmaker.
House ethics panel chairperson and 4Ps party-list Rep. JC Abalos said expulsion was the only punishment appropriate for Barzaga since he failed to change his ways despite serving two sets of 60-day suspensions without pay.
Barzaga’s acts cited in the ethics complaint filed against him by former House Deputy Speaker Janet Garin of Iloilo include:
- linking his then party-mates, the National Union Party, and tycoon Enrique Razon to corruption without presenting documents or corroborating accounts;
- mocking his fellow House members by likening them to crocodiles in photos posted on social media;
- accusing his fellow House members of being involved in the death of a local official who died due to accidental firing;
- being disruptive during the House plenary session by suddenly going on livestream to utter slanderous remarks, if not creating commotion, among others.
“With the representative having meted, in two instances, 60-day suspensions, the Committee considers that another penalty of suspension will not likely deter the improper behavior which continuously reflects negatively on the image of the House of Representatives,” Abalos said in his sponsorship speech of the Committee Report recommending the expulsion of Barzaga.
“Therefore, the Committee approves the recommendation of the imposition of the most severe penalty of expulsion from office upon Representative Francisco ‘Kiko’ A. Barzaga pursuant to Section 16, paragraph 3, Article VI of the Constitution, Section 142, Rule 20 of the Rules of the House of Representatives and Section 52(b)(5), Rule 9 of the Committee Rules,” he added.
“After a thorough deliberation on the case, the Committee finds Respondent Rep. Francisco ‘Kiko’ A. Barzaga of the Fourth District of Cavite to have committed disorderly behavior and demonstrated conduct unbecoming of a Member of the House of Representatives by violating Section 141(a) and (b), Rule 20 of the House Rules, and Section 4(A)(b) of Republic Act No. 6713,” Abalos said.
Abalos then noted that legislators are expected to avoid any act that could create an appearance of impropriety and conduct that could erode public trust in government institutions.
“Republic Act 6713 explicitly commands all public officials to observe professionalism as a core standard of personal conduct. The actions of the respondent fell dangerously short of this standard. His conduct undermined the collective duty of this august body to legislate with dignity and decorum,” Abalos said.
Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco, who questioned the expulsion of Barzaga, expressed doubts as to whether Barzaga deserves such a harsh penalty.
“He made mistakes, but the penalty should be commensurate with the offense,” Tiangco said. –NB, GMA News