House Committee on Ethics and Privileges Chairman 4Ps Party-list Rep. JC Abalos said that Cavite 4th district Rep. Francisco "Kiko" Barzaga's two-month suspension wasn't the result of his social media attacks against President Marcos.

Abalos made this clarification in a press conference Tuesday, Dec. 2 after he was asked by a reporter if the committee was "influenced by President Marcos" regarding its decision on the ethics case of the self-proclaimed "congressmeow".

It was the ethics panel that recommended the penalty of 60-day suspension without pay against Barzaga, after it found him guilty of disorderly behavior and conduct unbecoming of a House member. The recommendation was adopted during plenary session Monday via nominal vote result of 249-5-11 (yes-no-abstain).

The House voted as a collegial body in the legislature, and not as part of the executive branch under President Marcos. Technically, the Abalos panel only recommended a penalty for the erring member.

"So to answer your question, dahil ba iba ang pananaw niya (Barzaga) pagdating sa pamahalaan, yun ba ang dahilan? Hindi po (was it because he held views in opposition to the government, was that the reason behind his suspension? It wasn't)," Abalos said.

The 4Ps Party-list lawmaker noted that the subject-posts in the ethics case filed against Marcos critic Barzaga last December had nothing to do with "genuine political criticism" anyway.

"Ang ostentatious display of wealth o ang pagpapakita ng karangyaan, wala naman yan kinalaman sa political or political opinion (The ostentatious display of wealth has nothing to do with politics or political opinion)," Abalos said, referring to certain posts wherein the gen Z solon would flaunt his money.

The panel chief also found fault in Barzaga's uploading of lewd photos of "eabab", the latter's preferred term for women. "Ang pagpapakita ng imahe na nakakabastos sa ating mga kababaihan, hindi po yan political criticism or speech (It's not political criticism or speech to show images that disrespect our women)."

Abalos also brought up posts wherein he outright urged netizens to engage in acts of violence, or planted the seeds for such.

"If you are going to make certain pronouncements, for example ang pagsunog ng Kongreso, para kunwari po ang pagdala ng airsoft [guns] sa rally, hindi po ito ang genuine criticism na pino-promote po natin sa House of Representatives," he said.

(If you are going to make certain pronouncements, for example the burning of Congress, or for example bringing airsoft guns to the rally, this isn't part of the genuine criticism that we promote in the House of Representatives.)

Barzaga took down all 24 subject posts on Tuesday afternoon, as part of the plenary's adopted actions.

For months now, the Dasmariñas City lawmaker has used the hashtags #PhilippinesVsMarcos and #IkulongSiMarcos in his crusade to topple the administration due to allegations of corruption.