The National Unity Party (NUP) on Tuesday announced to sue its former member, Cavite Rep. Kiko Barzaga—who is still under suspension—for accusing them of “taking bribes” from billionaire tycoon Enrique Razon, allegedly in exchange for supporting then House speaker Martin Romualdez in the May 2025 polls.
NUP chair and House Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno announced the party’s plan to take collective legal action against Barzaga, accusing the neophyte solon of spouting “baseless, reckless, and malicious” allegations against its members.
“He chose to malign all members of the NUP, a party once led by his own father and one that he himself joined. To turn around and accuse the NUP of criminal conduct, without evidence, shows a reckless and deeply irresponsible contempt for the truth,” Puno lamented.
“We will see him in court.”
Puno made the remarks in reaction to Barzaga’s now-deleted Facebook post on 9 January, claiming “NUP congressmen received bribes from Enrique Razon in various gatherings in Solaire prior to the 2025 elections in exchange for supporting Speaker Martin Romualdez.”
Barzaga also accused Razon of being “the brain behind the corruption in Congress.”
The NUP is the second-largest political bloc in the House, next to the Romualdez-led Lakas-CMD. Barzaga’s parents—the late Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga and Dasmariñas Mayor Jenny Barzaga—were also members of the party.
Barzaga joined them in the NUP but resigned in September after being allegedly accused by Puno of soliciting signatures to unseat Romualdez from the House’s top post.
Puno argued that Barzaga’s bribery claims seem illogical, considering that Romualdez ran unopposed in the mid-term elections.
“There was no contest. To claim that bribes were paid in a situation where there was no contest at all defies logic,” Puno stressed.
The House leader noted that this is not the first time that Barzaga “maligns” a party member. However, Puno pointed out that because the nature of Barzaga’s latest accusation affects the entire NUP, and not just a single individual, the party decided to bring the matter to the appropriate legal channels.
“I will be filing cases against him. Other NUP Members who were similarly maligned will be filing their own cases as well,” he stated.
In September, the NUP, led by Puno, also filed an ethics complaint against Barzaga, which cost him a 60-day suspension without pay after he was found guilty of disorderly behavior on 1 December.
The case also stemmed from Barzaga’s Facebook posts, including “vulgar” and “lewd” posts towards women, anti-administration statements that allegedly bordered on sedition, which the NUP said constitute misconduct and inappropriate behavior unbecoming of a member of Congress.
Barzaga is set to return to the House on 30 January after serving the two-month suspension.
However, the NUP petitioned the House ethics committee to compel a fitness assessment of Barzaga to determine whether he is physically, mentally, emotionally, and behaviorally prepared to discharge the duties of a lawmaker in accordance with the House Code of Conduct.
Aside from the ethics complaint and a looming fresh rap, Barzaga is also facing a criminal complaint filed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, accusing him of inciting sedition and rebellion over reported violent incidents during an anti-corruption protest and calls for President Marcos Jr. to resign, which he led on 21 September.