Metro Manila, Philippines – Cavite 4th district Rep. Kiko Barzaga has been suspended for 60 days after a majority vote from his fellow House lawmakers that upheld a recommendation of the ethics panel.
The panel, acting on an ethics complaint filed by members of the National Unity Party (NUP), found the 27-year old lawmaker “guilty of disorderly behavior” over his social media posts that were “incendiary.”
That committee report recommended a 60-day suspension without pay.
“The respondent’s reckless, offensive, and irresponsible use of his social media platform tarnishes the name, integrity, and reputation of the House of Representatives,” 4Ps party-list Rep. JC Abalos told a plenary session on Monday, reading the ethics committee’s recommendations.
Voting in favor of the suspension were 249 House members. Eleven abstained while five voted in the negative.
The House committee said Barzaga’s actions “imposing incendiary social media contents on his Facebook accounts and retaining and failing to remove publicly-viewable inappropriate and indecent photos to be unparliamentary and unbecoming of a House member.”
Barzaga was ordered to delete all his social media posts that were the subject of the complaint within 24 hours.
