Cavite 4th District Representative Francisco “Kiko” Barzaga on Monday, 13 October 2025, said he is ready to face any sanction as a consequence of his recent actions in the House of Representatives.

According to Barzaga, he has long expected repercussions — even worse than sanctions — since he began releasing controversial statements against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and other officials.

“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 to the hearing on ethics complaints filed by his former party-list, the National Unity Party (NUP), led by House Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno. He clarified that his absence was not due to his attendance at the anti-corruption rally in Forbes Park, Makati, on Sunday night but because he was playing video games.

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

According to Puno, Barzaga has the right to express his opinions as a citizen, but as a congressman, he must conduct himself appropriately within the House.

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

In a separate interview, Puno said a committee on reconciliation was formed, but he stressed that his concern is institutional, not personal, as the insult was directed at Congress itself.

“The insult is not on me, the insult is on the institution. So I don’t know when the subcommittee will take cognizance of this, but I have put everybody on notice that this is not a personal grievance on my part, so there is no reconciliation that is necessary or even possible,” he said.

Meanwhile, Barzaga said he prefers to have a formal hearing to defend himself and discuss the matter with the concerned parties.

“I prefer not to settle because I want to try to have a hearing and try to make my defense there because it's much better if we can all agree to settle and talk about it,” Barzaga said.