MANILA, Philippines – Lumikha ng isang reconciliation subcommittee ang House Committee on Ethics and Privileges na mag-aayos ng lahat ng mga kasong inihahain dito.
Ito ang ibinahagi ni House Deputy Speaker at Antipolo City 1st district Representative Ronaldo Puno sa panayam nitong Lunes, Oktubre 13.
Dumalo si Puno sa closed-door hearing ng ethics committee na itinakda ngayong umaga.
Siya ang isa sa 29 complainants laban kay Cavite 4th district Representative Francisco “Kiko” Barzaga sa conduct unbecoming a member ng Kamara at sa paglabag sa 1987 Constitution at House rules.
Si Puno ay respondent din sa ethics complaint na inihain ni Barzaga sa pagbanggit sa mental health at paggamit sa ethics committee sa umano’y panggigipit at paggamit ng larawan sangkot ang mga pribadong indibidwal.
Hindi naman bukas sina Puno at Barzaga na mapag-ayos.
“Pinangunahan ko na sila. Sinabi ko, there is no reconciliation because this is not a personal grievance. Hindi naman sa akin ang insulto. Ang insulto is to the institution,” ani Puno.
“I was telling the Ethics Committee, we filed this complaint because we want standards of behavior to be established in Congress, no? Like, okay ba maglagay sa website namin ng mga malalaswang litrato? Okay ba insultuhin namin yung kababaihan? Okay ba sabihin namin sa mga kabataan na mag-Congressman na kayo para yumaman kayo? Tama ba yon? So if this is something that is acceptable behavior for a Congressman, I want the Ethics Committee to rule on it. Because ako, tingin ko that it definitely should be prohibited,” dagdag pa ni Puno.
“I prefer not to settle because I want to try to have a hearing and to try to make my defense there kasi mas maganda talaga ‘pag if we can all air our grievances out and to talk about it,” sinabi pa ni Barzaga.
Nang tanungin kung handa namang tumanggap ng parusa kung magkakaroon man, sinabi ni Barzaga na, “I’m ready for anything. I fully intend. When it all started, when I fought against (former House Speaker and Leyte 1st district Representative Martin) Romualdez, I fully intended it. I was fully expecting to die but like, kung sanctions lang naman, eh di that’s much better than dying.”
“Suspension, removal, imprisonment, like, those are all possible. But that’s fine,” ayon kay Barzaga.
Sa kabila nito, nanindigan si Barzaga na wala siyang ginawang mali.
“I won’t be defending myself in the Ethics Committee if I do believe that i violated anything there,” sinabi ni Barzaga.
Sumagot naman dito si Puno sa pagsasabi na,
“He does not believe he did anything wrong because obviously his standards are much lower than the average person. So I think maybe he should be given a lesson by the Ethics Committee that, that kind of behavior is not desirable, it is not acceptable, especially if you are a member of the House of Representatives.”
“We are not filing this complaint because he has committed any crime. We are filing this complaint because he has violated the rules of the House. So, yeah, the standards of behavior of a congressman are higher than an average person because you carry responsibility, you represent your district, you’re supposed to be giving value to the trust that was given you by your constituents,” dagdag pa ni Puno.
Ani Barzaga, late siyang dumating sa pagdinig ng Ethics Committee at hindi nakapagsalita dahil “we were very busy last night. I was just playing games on my computer.” RNT/JGC
