As if the flood control controversy isn’t already a mess, another lawmaker has joined the noise. On September 10, Cavite Fourth District Representative Francisco “Kiko” Barzaga told reporters that House Speaker Martin Romualdez “should be the first to be investigated,” alleging his involvement in the anomalous flood control projects. The ambush interview happened after the Gen Z congressman was accused by National Unity Party (NUP) Chairman Ronaldo Puno of attempting to oust Romualdez.
Barzaga left the NUP shortly after he was accused of soliciting signatures from other congressmen to vote Romualdez out of the House speaker set, a claim that the 27-year-old congressman denies. Now, he faces an ethics complaint lodged by his former party mates, who point to posts on his Facebook page that “potentially” incite to sedition.
At a press conference on Monday, September 15, Puno and other members of the NUP presented screenshots of posts from Barzaga’s two Facebook pages. “‘Wag niyo sunugin ang House of Representatives bukas, may privilege speech pa ako sa Lunes,” he said on a post dated September 12.
Puno also showed photos of Barzaga in suggestive poses with women and displaying thick wads of cash, all of which were dated 2022 to 2023. In a post dated July 30, he said he was not the congressman allegedly caught watching an online cockfight during the State of the Nation Address; instead, he quipped, “Vivamax pinanood ko doon.”
More recently, Barzaga posted several quote cards with portraits of other government officials covered by a frowning cat emoji. In one post, he falsely quotes Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III as saying, “Hindi ba nila naiisip na baka si Martin Romualdez ang tuta ko,” to which Barzaga responds, “Ganyan rin ‘yong pusa ko, sobrang yabang ‘kala mo siya ‘yong amo pero lalapit agad ‘pag naglabas ako ng cat treats.”
“We cannot allow this behavior to be unresponded to,” Puno said during the press conference. Later, he also commented, “He is not well.”
‘Congressmeow’
Barzaga is the son of Dasmariñas City Mayor Jennifer “Jenny” Austria-Barzaga and the late former Cavite Fourth District Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr.
Elpidio passed away in April 2024. In the period between his death and the 2025 elections, wherein Barzaga won the empty post, Romualdez was made the caretaker for the congressional district.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Barzaga wrote that Romualdez should be investigated for anomalies involving the flood control projects “specifically during the time when he was given the caretaker position of my district upon my father’s death.” Attached to the post was a photo of a cat.
Romualdez has denied his involvement in the flood control scandal.
Barzaga calls himself the “Congressmeow of Dasmariñas, Cavite” and seems to have leaned into a cat-themed branding as a public official. Prior to his position in the House of Representatives, he served as councilor for Dasmariñas City. As a congressman, he also served as an assistant majority leader to House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos. When he left the NUP, he also left the House Majority, which he had joined when he voted Romualdez in as speaker.
In a Facebook post dated September 15, Barzaga said, “Fighting against someone like Speaker Martin Romuadez is practically political suicide, only someone as crazy as me can do it.” In the same hour, he also implied that he would win the House Speaker seat, which Romualdez still occupies. “Congressman Kiko Barzaga, youngest House speaker in Philippine history and the first Gen Z speaker in the world!”
