Bagong Henerasyon (BH) Party-list Rep. Robert Nazal, Sagip Party-list Rep. Paolo Marcoleta, and Kamanggagawa Party-list Rep. Eli San Fernando once again took up the cudgels for Cavite 4th district Rep. Francisco "Kiko" Barzaga when their House colleagues sought to impose a second 60-day suspension without pay against him.

Although the three ultimately failed in stopping plenary from imposing the fresh penalty against "congressmeow", they were still able to put on record their collective arguments against such action.

Nazal, Rep. Marcoleta, and San Fernando were among the handful of solons who opposed the first 60-day suspension that was sought against Barzaga last Dec. 1 for "disorderly behavior", which mainly stemmed from his inflammatory and lewd posts on social media.

Nazal said that when the case first came before the House months ago, he voted to reprimand rather than suspend Barzaga after carefully weighing the Constitution, House rules and the demands of due process.

“While I considered the conduct unbecoming of a member of Congress, I did not believe then, nor do I believe now, that it met the threshold for suspension,” he said.

Nazal stressed that suspension is a severe penalty that temporarily deprives constituents of representation and stands just short of expulsion. “Our discipline must be principled and proportionate, not reactionary."

While he acknowledged that social media attacks against the House undermine public trust, he reckoned that accountability must be balanced with fairness.

“We have a duty to allow room for correction without unnecessarily depriving the people of the fourth district of Cavite of their chosen representative,” the BH party-list solon said.

Rep. Marcoleta echoed Nazal's argument. "Legislators derive their authority from the electorate...ang pinarurusahan po natin sa mga haibanging ito ay hindi si Cong Barzaga, kung hindi ang mga taong nasasakupan ng kanyang pamumuno," he said.

(The one being punished in these proceedings is not Congress Barzaga, but the people under his leadership.)

The son of Senator Rodante Marcoleta also called out fellow House members of being too sensitive when it comes to the 27-year-old Barzaga's remarks.

"Patuloy na pinarurusahan ang kongresistang nag-meow meow, ngunit wala paring nakakasuhan na malalaking magnanakaw. Masyado naman po tayong naging sensitibo (The congressman who meowed continues to be punished, yet no major thieves have been charged. We have become far too sensitive)," he said.

Rep. Marcoleta was alluding to the fallout from the flood control projects corruption scandal, which a large part of Barzaga's populist rhetoric had been based on.

"Cong-meow Barzaga is merely expressing his views under a current backdrop of an unprecedented level of corruption in government," said the SAGIP Party-list lawmaker.

"If the disciplinary actions from Cong Barzaga stem from speech that discusses public issues such as statements on corruption or critical commentary, such actions risk contravening the fundamental right to freedom of speech and curtailing legitimate political expression," he reckoned.

Also standing up in plenary for Barzaga both literally and figuratively was San Fernando.

"This representation understands the concerns of our colleagues in this august chamber. True, we must observe proper decorum! True, we, elected officials are held to a higher ethical standard! Totoo na dapat nirerespeto at pino-proteksyunan ang ating institusyon! (True, the institution must be respected and protected!)

"Pero ako ay naniniwala na ang muling pag-suspinde kay Rep. Barzaga ay hindi magpapanumbalik ng respeto ng taumbayan sa ating institutsyon. Ang pag-suspinde sa isang halal na opisyal ay hindi magpoprotekta, bagkus, magpapahina sa Kongresong ito," he said.

(But I believe that once again suspending Rep. Barzaga will not restore the people’s respect for our institution. Suspending an elected official does not protect this Congress; rather, it weakens it.)

San Fernando stressed that the will of the electorate "should always reign supreme".

On Wednesday, the House voted 238-10-9 (yes-no-abstain) to adopt the recommendation for a new 60-day suspension against Barzaga because of his supposed continued detrimental behaviour.

His first suspension lasted from Dec. 1, 2025 to Jan. 30, 2026.