Barzaga may be expelled from House due to repeated offenses, warns Garin

Cavite 4th District Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Barzaga may face expulsion from the House of Representatives due to his repeated failure to show proper decorum and perform his duty as a lawmaker, House Deputy Speaker and Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin said on Tuesday. 

This was after the House ethics committee conducted another hearing on Tuesday on several complaints against Barzaga, who skipped the hearing.

The hearing also tackled Garin’s complaint over Barzaga’s comments that allegedly linked her and House Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo 3rd District Rep. Lorenz Defensor to the death of Dueñas, Iloilo Vice Mayor Aimee Paz Lamasan.

Lamasan died of accidental firing in December 2025.

“The usual practice is suspension, suspension, then expulsion. And others were saying, maybe he should be allowed to undergo medical exam first, but that is internal to their family, and we don’t want to go into that direction,” Garin told reporters.

Aside from being a complainant, Garin is an ex-officio member of the House ethics panel as a House Deputy Speaker.

She added that Barzaga never expressed remorse for his actions and his repeated offenses.

“There’s the one alluding the NUP [linking them to corruption], then alluding to one of the business tycoons [also in reference of corruption]. And then he takes those statements back. But it does not stop there. In Iloilo, when one of the vice mayors died due to accidental firing, out of nowhere, he pointed to Congressman Defensor and myself,” Garin said.

She also cited Barzaga’s “usual decorum” in the House.

“May pag-uusapan, bigla siyang mangugulo, bigla siyang mag-live chat, biglang mag-popoke ng mga cellphone (There is a discussion, he suddenly creates a commotion, goes on live, poking others),” Garin said.

She said Barzaga told her that he is a cat meant to have many enemies.

“We kept on asking him why. Ang sabi naman niya, ‘Mommy kasi, ang pusa, pala-away (He said, Mommy, a cat likes picking fights). And you have to understand that a pusa (cat) will have many enemies,” Garin said.

“But he’s not a cat. He’s a member of Congress, duly elected, who should demonstrate what is expected, commensurate to this position,” she added.

Garin also claimed that Barzaga told her that it would be better for him to be removed as a member of Congress since it would give him more chances to land in the headlines.

“He kept on complaining, ‘Ay bakit hindi ako inexpel, bakit hindi ako inexpel, bakit suspended lang? (Oh, why wasn’t I expelled, why only suspended?) If it was expulsion, I would land in the headlines,’” she recalled.

Garin said such decorum is unacceptable, especially that Barzaga has already served two suspensions.

Bazaga was first suspended for 60 days in December last year, without pay and allowances, for disorderly behavior in relation to his allegedly inappropriate social media posts that were the subject of the complaint against him. 

In February this year, the House of Representatives imposed an additional 60-day suspension without pay and other allowances Barzaga for his “utter contempt for institutional standards.”

“The bottom line is, if we talk about the Committee on Ethics, it is basically your decorum, maintaining respect, and doing your job as a member of Congress,” Garin said.

Asked if the lawmaker deserves to be expelled given the sum of his actions, she replied: “Yes. Kasi walang nagbabago eh (Because nothing ever changes).” 

Sought for comment over Garin’s statement, Barzaga said: “I stand by my statements, The Philippine House of Representatives is an institution of failures and thieves, an embarrassment to our nation.” — JMA, GMA News