House expels Barzaga

MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers overwhelmingly voted last night to expel Rep. Kiko Barzaga from the roll of members of the House of Representatives for disorderly behavior, unparliamentary conduct and other violations.

Voting 265-14 with eight abstentions during plenary session, members of the chamber from both the administration and opposition voted to remove the neophyte lawmaker as representative of Cavite’s fourth district.

The 318-member House adopted the recommendation of the committee on ethics and privileges headed by Rep. JC Abalos of the 4Ps party-list, based on a complaint filed by Barzaga’s former colleagues in the National Unity Party (NUP).

Prior to his expulsion, the son of the late congressman Elpidio Barzaga Jr. had been suspended twice for 60 days – in December 2025 and February 2026 – for gross misconduct and making defamatory allegations against fellow lawmakers through offensive social media posts.

Barzaga repeatedly went live on his personal Facebook account during legislative sessions and described the House as a “crocodile farm,” an apparent swipe at colleagues whom he accused of corruption, including alleged involvement in the flood-control controversy.

The House leadership under Speaker Faustino Dy III said the expulsion was part of the chamber’s efforts to instill discipline and proper decorum, following Barzaga’s earlier suspensions for conduct unbecoming of a member and violations of House rules.

Ethics complaint

The expulsion also came as the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) sought separate sanctions against Barzaga over social media posts accusing NBI agents of attempting to assassinate senators during the May 13 shooting incident at the Senate.

Yesterday, NBI Director Melvin Matibag personally filed the complaint at the House of Representatives, saying Barzaga’s allegations were not only false but also damaging to the reputation of the bureau and law enforcement agencies. — Mark Ernest Villeza