Puno: NUP to seek expulsion of suspended Cavite Rep. Kiko Barzaga from House

The National Unity Party is set to ask the House of Representatives to expel suspended Cavite 4th District Rep. Kiko Barzaga, citing what it described as repeated defiance of congressional authority and ethics rulings.

House Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno, who chairs the NUP, said the party is considering expulsion after Barzaga’s alleged failure to comply with decisions of the House ethics committee and the chamber itself.

“Ang nangyayari dito parang paulit-ulit, parang binabalewala 'yung mga desisyon ng Ethics committee. Binabalewala 'yung desisyon ng Congress," he said.

(What is happening seems repetitive—decisions of the Ethics committee are being disregarded. The decisions of Congress itself are being ignored.)

Puno added that the lawmaker’s actions could be considered outright defiance and done in bad faith.

“Itong si Congressman Barzaga baka hilingin namin na i-expel na rin sana kasi parang talagang outright defiance na of everything that is going on at saka bad faith na siya," he said.

(With Congressman Barzaga, we may even seek for his expulsion because it appears to be outright defiance of everything that is happening, and his actions seem to be in bad faith.)

He added that Barzaga’s conduct falls short of the standards expected of members of Congress.

“Hindi talaga ito behavior ng tunay na mambabatas. Parang naging laro-laro na lang (This is not the behavior of a true legislator. It seems like a game to him),” he said.

According to Puno, allowing such conduct to persist diminishes the institution.

“So I think it demeans the House to have somebody like him. Baka naman (Perhaps) the House will consider expelling him na lang para walang ganyang problema (to avoid this kind of problem)," he said.

In December, the House voted to suspend Barzaga for 60 days following findings by the ethics committee related to his social media posts. After the suspension order, Barzaga took down the posts that had been flagged by the committee.

Earlier, on January 13, the NUP—currently the second-largest political party in the House—announced plan to file charges against Barzaga over a now-deleted Facebook post accusing NUP members of receiving bribes from businessman Enrique Razon.

Barzaga had earlier resigned from the NUP in September 2025, at the height of rumors about an alleged coup against House leadership.

Sought for comment, Barzaga said he is not the problem.

“The problem in the House is not my behavior, I have not stolen anything from the Filipino people,” Barzaga told GMA News Online via Viber message. —AOL, GMA Integrated News