Kiko Barzaga's expulsion is first without criminal raps, party-list led removal since 1987

The expulsion of Francisco “Kiko” Barzaga as Cavite 4th District representative due to disorderly conduct is the first time that a lawmaker was removed from the House’s ranks even without a criminal case or an expulsion stemming from a party-list decision.

On Tuesday night, the House of Representatives expelled Barzaga due to the following acts:

• Linking his then party-mates in the National Union Party (NUP) 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 involvement in the death of a local official who died due to accidental firing
• Being disruptive during House plenary session by suddenly going on livestream to utter slanderous remarks, if not creating a commotion, among others.

Before his removal from the House, Barzaga was penalized with two sets of 60-day suspensions.

Although he is not the first lawmaker to be expelled, Barzaga’s removal is a rare case as he is only the third member to be ejected from the lower chamber since the 1987 Constitution restored Congress.

Before this, these members of the House were expelled after they were found guilty of crimes by courts or were ousted by their party-list.

1. Zamboanga del Norte 1st District Rep. Romeo Jalosjos

Over two decades ago, Jalosjos became the first to be removed as a member of the House under the 1987 Constitution after the Supreme Court (SC) upheld his conviction with finality for two counts of statutory rape and six counts of acts of lasciviousness in 2002.

2. Dinagat Island Rep. Ruben Ecleo Jr.:

In May 31, 2012, the House of Representatives removed Ecleo from the House ranks after the Cebu City Regional Trial Court (RTC) found him guilty of parricide for killing his wife Alona Bacolod-Ecleo, a third-year medical student, in April 13, 2012.

Although Ecleo appealed this parricide conviction before the SC, then Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. of Quezon City said Ecleo’s removal is warranted since his appeal “looked pro forma with scant chance of being granted.”

Before his murder conviction, the Sandiganbayan in October 2006 sentenced Ecleo to 31 and a half years in prison for graft over anomalous construction deals he allegedly entered into when he was town mayor of San Jose, Surigao del Norte between 1991-1994.

Ecleo was arrested in Pampanga in July 2020 and died less than a year later in May 2021 due to cardiopulmonary arrest.

3. Arts, Business, and Science Professionals (ABS) Party-list Rep. Eugene Michael De Vera

De Vera was removed from the House ranks in November 2018 after the ABS party-list expelled him from the group, a ground for his removal from office as a House member.

4. Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Nicolas Enciso VIII

Enciso was removed from the list of House members in February 2023 after Bicol Saro Party-list ousted him from their group in February 2023, a ground for his removal from office as a House member.

5. Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr.

On August 16, 2023, the House of Representatives voted to expel Teves for disorderly conduct and his continued absence despite an expired travel authority.

A day before his expulsion from the House, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed murder and other related charges against him over killings in Negros Oriental in 2019.

Ahead of his indictment, Teves went into hiding after the DOJ linked him to the March 4, 2023 assassination of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo.

6. An-Waray Party-list Rep. Bem Noel

The House of Representatives removed Noel from its ranks in September 2023 after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) cancelled the An-Waray Party-list’s registration for allowing a second nominee, Isabel Noel, to sit as a member of Congress without the proper authority. — JMA, GMA News