MANILA, Philippines — Cavite 4th District Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Barzaga said that he is willing to take on House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez for the House leadership.
“I am a very open person, I am going to take Speaker Romualdez’s speakership and I hope Majority Leader Sandro Marcos won’t hold it against me and won’t stand against me,” Barzaga said.
He said that he already has one or two House members who are willing to support his bid for the speakership.
“I talked to nearly everyone at the plenary, some are open to it, some wish to continue supporting Speaker Romualdez,” Barzaga said.
Barzaga also answered allegations that he has been behaving improperly. His behavior was raised during a press briefing by Deputy Speaker and Antipolo Rep. Ronaldo Puno. The National Unity Party threatened to file an ethics complaint against Barzaga for his posts on social media that it said tends to incite violence.
During the briefing, Puno showed photos of Barzaga having a “neck lock” with a cosplayer during an event that he attended when he was not yet a lawmaker.
“It’s just a generation gap… Congressman Puno is older than me, so he does not understand,” Barzaga said.
