Mother of Kiko Barzaga to run for his vacant seat

Incumbent Dasmariñas, Cavite Mayor Jennifer Barzaga filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) on Friday as Cavite 4th District Representative after her son Kiko Barzaga was expelled from Congress on 2 June.

She submitted her COC on the last day at 2:38 p.m., according to Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia, making her the fifth candidate for the seat along with Vice Mayor Raul Rex Del Rosario, Leysander Aguilar Ordenes, Marvin Opamin Dupal-ag, and Jacinto Bautista Frani Jr.

The seat was vacant due to the issue of misconduct of the young Barzaga. A total of 265 lawmakers voted in its favor, while only 14 voted against and 8 abstained. The ethics complaint was formally filed before the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges by Rep. Janette Garin, whom Barzaga often criticized and called the "Dengvaxia Queen."

The special election will happen on 29 August for the district, which has 437,000 registered voters.

While the former representative was a known "Uniteam" supporter in 2022, and is now a Duterte defender and a critic of the Marcos administration, his mother and late father, former Rep. Pidi Barzaga, vocally campaigned for the presidency of former Vice President Leni Robredo.