Cavite Rep. Kiko Barzaga was slapped with a 60-day suspension without pay on Monday after the House of Representatives ethics committee ruled that his social media posts were “reckless, offensive, and irresponsible.”

During the plenary session, 4Ps Party-list Rep. JC Abalos read the panel’s 27-page report, hammering Barzaga for damaging the reputation of the House.

“His actions reflected negatively upon the dignity, integrity, and reputation of the House of Representatives as an institution of the members of the House individually and collectively,” Abalos said.

“Respondent’s reckless, offensive, and irresponsible use of his social media platform tarnishes the name, integrity, and reputation of the House of Representatives,” he added.

The complaint came from members of the National Unity Party (NUP), who argued that Barzaga’s posts—including indecent photos and incendiary commentary—were “unparliamentary and unbecoming of a House member.”

The report ordered Barzaga to delete all 24 flagged posts within 24 hours and warned: “Repetition of similar misconduct will result to a more severe disciplinary action.”

“Unrepentant” Barzaga Maintains Stance vs Marcos, Cites Free Speech

Barzaga, who has repeatedly called for President Bongbong Marcos to resign, accepted the committee’s ruling—but doubled down on his message.

“I wholeheartedly accept the decision of the committee, but I maintain my stance that President Marcos must be held accountable for his crimes. Too many people have died and too much money was plundered from the Filipino people for us to stand down now,” he said.

The ethics committee, however, dismissed his free speech defense.

“The committee finds the subject social media post of the respondent to be inflammatory and with the tendency to unjustifiably incite public distrust with the government and House of Representatives,” Abalos said.

Abalos stressed that freedom of speech “is not absolute and cannot be invoked in a proceeding” before the ethics panel. “If every member would invoke their right to free speech in every instance where an improper conduct is being investigated, there would be no instance when a member can ever be held accountable or liable,” he added.

Barzaga has also faced fact-checks for spreading disinformation about ongoing corruption probes. Abalos slammed the posts as “not mere criticisms of the government but reckless, unsubstantiated, offensive, general insinuations against public institutions and public officials that undermine the people’s confidence in the government.”

He added that the panel does not consider Barzaga’s posts to be “sensible and intelligible,” as would be expected from a public official, especially a lawmaker.

The lawmaker is already facing a criminal complaint filed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group for allegedly inciting sedition and rebellion. He was also removed from the army reserve force, despite enlisting as a private only earlier this year.

The House voted overwhelmingly in favor of the suspension, with 249 lawmakers supporting the measure, five opposed, and 11 abstaining.

📷 Kiko Barzaga FB