Antipolo City 2nd district Rep. Philip Conrad Acop showed nothing but class in his last opportunity to address in plenary the now-expelled Cavite 4th district Rep. Francisco "Kiko" Barzaga--the person who disrespected his late father, Romeo Acop, for social media content.

Rep. Acop, who took over his dad's House seat following the latter's passing in December 2025, gave a manifestation during plenary session Tuesday night, June 2 or minutes before congressmen voted on whether or not to uphold the Committee on Ethic's recommendation to expel "congressmeow", Rep. Barzaga.

Instead of berating his Gen Z colleague for antagonizing his family, Rep. Acop took the high road. Such restraint wasn't easy given the emotional weight of the matter.

"It would be difficult for me not to become emotional about the matter but I was taught--I was taught to rise beyond emotions and remain as objective as I can be," he said.

Rep. Acop began by paying respects to Rep. Barzaga's own late father, who, unlike him, was well-liked in Congress.

"Let me state that I looked up to Cong Pidi Barzaga. My late father, Congressman Romeo Acop, also looked up to him...he only had kinds words for Cong Pidi. This institution lost a pillar when Cong Pidi left us," he said.

"I stand out echoing one of the most stated lines of my father, that with authority, comes responsibility," he said.

Rep. Acop continued, while glancing at Rep. Barzaga's direction from time to time: "When my father died in December, our family faced both sympathy and criticism."

"Some, coming from a member of this very institution who falsely claimed that my father has left a legacy of greed and corruption, that he was hated by the very people he swore to serve, and that his death was rejoiced, and that his demise would serve as a lesson to all other congressmen."

The Antipolo solon and National Unity Party (NUP) stalwart said he chose to keep silent amid the hateful statements "not because it was true, but because I knew the truth".

"In laying our father to rest, I opted to thank those who criticized and even celebrated in his passing. stating that such would fuel our family to live and lead according to how our parents raised us," he noted.

"Today, with great conviction, I state to Cong Kiko Barzaga, that your legacy of ineptitude, irresponsibility, and disrespect would indeed serve as a lesson to the entire Filipino people and your colleagues in the House of Representatives that we deserve competent leaders," Rep. Acop said, as he raised his voice just a little bit.

Exhibiting the no-nonsense trait of his father, he further said: "The House of Representatives is not a playground where whims trump the work that we are tasked to do."

"The mandate of a people must never be taken for granted, much more taken less, that it be sacrificed for a few seconds in the spotlight," Rep. Acop said, as he seemingly referenced congressmeow's flippant social media persona.

"This institution must never tolerate ineptitude, irresponsibility, and disrespect. In the end, we must hold ourselves to the highest of standards if we are to become true representatives of the people--a legacy we must all aspire to leave behind," he said as he concluded his speech.

Rep. Acop was given a round of applause by his House colleagues as he walked back to his seat. He was the only one to receive applause during this manifestation period.

The House members ultimately adopted the recommendation to kick out the Dasmariñas lawmaker from the chamber via nominal vote result of 265-14-8 (yes-no-abstain).