Barzaga belittles House sanctions

Cavite 4th District Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Barzaga on Monday said he is ready to face any sanction for his recent actions in the House of Representatives.

According to Barzaga, he has expected worse than sanctions ever since he began releasing controversial statements about former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, among others.

“I’m ready for anything. When it all started, when I fought against Romualdez, I was fully expecting to die. If it’s just sanctions, that’s much better than dying,” Barzaga said.

Barzaga was late for his hearing on ethics complaints filed by his former party, the National Unity Party (NUP), led by House Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno.

Barzaga said his attendance at an anti-corruption rally in Forbes Park, Makati, late Sunday was not the reason for his tardiness, but that he was playing video games that night.

“My hearing was already over when I arrived. I was very busy last night. I was just playing games on my computer,” he said.

According to Puno, Barzaga has the right to express his opinions as a citizen, but as a congressman, he should conduct himself accordingly inside the plenary.

“When you enter the House of Representatives, you are expected to hold yourself to a certain level of behavior. If we don’t have that, we’ll just have chaos here,” Puno said in an interview.

In a separate interview, Puno said a committee on reconciliation was organized, but his concern is not personal, and that reconciliation is neither necessary nor possible since the insult was directed at the institution.