Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. has taken offense to being called "kenkoy" in connection with a resolution he filed wherein he sought government support for the International Criminal Court's (ICC) probe on the previous Duterte administration’s bloody war on illegal drugs. 

Abante, a pastor, said the derogatory tag came from a former colleague in the House of Representatives, who also happened to be a lawyer. 

"A certain former congressman attacked me in his YouTube channel...I'm not going to mention his name anymore. But he was a former colleague and supposedly a friend," he said Wednesday, Nov. 29, during a joint public hearing of the Committees on Human Rights and on Justice on the ICC issues. 

Three resolutions favoring the ICC investigation have been referred to the joint panels, one of them being Abante's House Resolution (HR) No.1477. 

"There are three resolutions that have been filed in this committee but only one resolution has been talked about and  only one author has been called 'kenkoy'. 

"Now, hindi po ako napipikon doon eh (that doesn't upset me). But a former colleague saying that to another colleague is something that cannot be just passed on without me commenting on what he's trying to say," Abante said. 

Kenkoy is a Filipino slang used to describe someone who shouldn't be taken seriously. 

"Kaya ngayon ay ating pag-uusapan kung sino talaga ang kenkoy dito, siya o ako (Now we will discuss who really is the kenkoy here, him or me) 

"Abugado po siya eh. Ako hindi eh (He is a lawyer. But I am not). But the thing is, he even mentioned that I might not be even be supported by my own congregation," Abante said, at which point his tone changed. 

"Try me, Mr. ex-congressman, try me. I have 6,000 pastors all over the world. Try me," the Manila solon said. 

Abante chairs the human rights panel. He is also a former deputy speaker.