Members of the National Unity Party (NUP), the second-largest political bloc in the House of Representatives, asked the committee on ethics and privileges on Thursday to compel a fitness assessment against its former member, Cavite Rep. Kiko Barzaga, before allowing him to return from a two-month suspension.

The party said the evaluation is necessary to determine whether Barzaga is physically, mentally, emotionally, and behaviorally prepared to discharge the duties of a lawmaker consistent with the House Code of Conduct.

This comes as they took offense at Barzaga’s alleged continued posts of “inflammatory and disorderly content” on his official social media pages, despite the panel’s warning that a repetition of “reckless” and “offensive” posts may result in “severe disciplinary action.”

Barzaga is set to return to the House for his legislative duties on 30 January following a 60-day suspension that started on 1 December.

The committee imposed the sanction after finding the neophyte lawmaker guilty of disorderly behavior over social media posts, mainly against the administration, that allegedly bordered on sedition.

Panel chairperson JC Abalos condemned Barzaga’s actions, saying they “bring[s] contempt, discredit, and disrepute” to the House, and warned that repeating similar conduct will lead to harsher sanctions, including expulsion.

The NUP, in September, filed the ethics case that triggered the investigation.

In a manifestation and motion filed by the NUP through its counsel on Thursday, the party members accused Barzaga of continuously engaging in conduct unbecoming of a member of Congress, which is purportedly in pure disregard of the committee’s authority.

They cited posts that include, among others, Barzaga’s posts “ridiculing” the recent death of its member, former Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop.

The NUP also took offense at Barzaga’s alleged continued posting of “crude and objectifying remarks involving women, the dissemination of inflammatory political commentary through official platforms, and the exploitation of the death of another public official to advance an unfounded conspiracy narrative.”

The complainants argued that disciplinary sanctions must be corrective in effect, and that continued misconduct, despite his ongoing suspension, raises serious questions as to whether Barzaga is prepared to discharge the duties of a legislator in accordance with the standards of conduct required by law and House rules.

They claimed, however, that the request does not automatically seek stricter penalties for Barzaga. Rather, it invokes the committee’s supervisory authority and jurisdiction to ensure that institutional safeguards are in place before a legislator returns to office to perform official duties after having been sanctioned.

Barzaga was a former NUP member but resigned in September after being allegedly accused by party chair, Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno, of soliciting signatures to unseat then House Speaker Martin Romualdez.