House suspends Barzaga for 60 days

MANILA, Philippines — Voting 249-5, the House of Representatives yesterday upheld the recommendation of its ethics committee to impose a 60-day suspension “without pay and privileges” on Cavite 4th District Rep. Francisco Barzaga for conduct unbecoming of a member of Congress.

Panel chairman Rep. Jonathan Clement Abalos of party-list 4Ps reported to the House plenary the recommendation of his panel, as agreed on by the committee members, to suspend Barzaga, a so-called “nepo baby” and Gen Z who is known as “cong meow meow.”

This was borne out of the “disorderly behavior” he displayed in his personal and official Facebook page on social media, where pictures of scantily dressed women were posted, along with other portrayals of lewdness and images of bundles of hundreds of thousands of pesos to show his wealth.

“His actions reflected negatively upon the dignity, integrity and reputation of the House of Representatives as an institution and of the members of the House individually and collectively,” a portion of the Abalos report read.

“Consequently, the committee finds respondent, Barzaga of the fourth district of Cavite guilty of disorderly behavior by violating Sec. 141 (a) Rule 20 of the Rules of House of Representatives, 4(c) of (Republic Act) 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees,” it added.

It recommended the imposition of the “penalty of 60-day suspension from office without the benefit of salaries and allowances during the period of suspension, with a stern warning that repetition of similar misconduct will result to a more severe disciplinary action.”

At the same plenary session, Abalos also disclosed that they recommended that Barzaga “be directed to remove all 24 social media posts subject to this case within 24 hours from adoption of this report in the plenary.”

Surprisingly, Barzaga – who was present in the plenary hall – didn’t 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 declared.

“Whatever punishment may fall upon me and others who stand against this President, who has lost his constitutional mandate of serving the people, is inconsequential in relation to the number of lives and futures that will be saved once President Marcos leaves the Malacañang,” Barzaga added.

Two neophyte lawmakers, meantime, refused to cast their votes, among them were Reps. Leandro Leviste of the first district of Batangas and Paolo Marcoleta – son of Senator Rodante Marcoleta - of Sagip party-list.

In early October, Barzaga revealed during plenary sessions that he intended to file an impeachment complaint against President Marcos for alleged “betrayal of public trust.”

He has not filed any complaint yet before the office of the House secretary general, lawyer and former journalist Cheloy Garafil, who once served as Presidential Communications Office chief prior to her stint in Taiwan’s Manila Economic Cooperation Office.

“I am filing an impeachment complaint against President Marcos. Hopefully, Congress will remove him soon so we can start investigating those involved in flood control anomalies,” the 27-year-old lawmaker said, apparently unaware or unmindful that 289 of the 317-member chamber are allies of Marcos.

However, Barzaga – who belongs to the now popular term “nepo babies,” being the son of the late congressman Elpidio Barzaga Jr. – only showed the document on Marcos impeachment suit in his vlog, where he accused the Chief Executive of “betrayal of public trust.”

“Welcome back to the crocodile farm. Absent ulit mga buwaya, nag bakasyon na,” he said, smiling in his vlog as he showed a video of the chamber’s plenary hall. “At may surprise ulit ako sa inyo – the Marcos impeachment complaint! Ameow hehehe Bye Bye Marcos.”

Barzaga has been charged with inciting to sedition and inciting to rebellion in connection with the violence during the Sept. 21 rally and another protest in October at Forbes Park