Embattled Dasmariñas City Rep. Francisco Barzaga apologized to businessman Enrique Razon for linking him to the House of Representatives.
Barzaga said he was “sorry” for the statements he made against the business tycoon and that he is “ready to face the consequences of his actions.”
Barzaga’s statement came after Razon, chairman of port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), lodged a cyberlibel complaint against the 27-year-old lawmaker over alleged false statements posted on social media.
Razon’s counsel, lawyer Laurence Arroyo, earlier said the complaint stemmed from Barzaga’s January 9 Facebook post claiming that National Unity Party (NUP) congressmen received bribes from Razon during various gatherings at Solaire ahead of the 2025 elections in exchange for supporting Speaker Martin Romualdez of Leyte.
Another January 9 Facebook post by Barzaga, also cited in the complaint, alleged that Razon was the mastermind behind corruption in Congress and that he would disclose everything in a speech upon his return in the first week of February, accompanied by a hashtag calling for Razon’s imprisonment.
“The basis of this complaint is our position that what he said is false and malicious,” Arroyo earlier told reporters.
Barzaga’s actions also prompted the NUP to push for his possible removal from the House, even as it prepares to file separate charges against him outside Congress.
NUP party chairman and Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno of Antipolo City said it “demeans the House to have somebody like him there.”
“It may also be that the House will consider expelling him to get rid of such a problem,” Puno said at a press conference.
Puno and other NUP members strongly condemned Barzaga’s recent social media posts and public statements accusing party members of receiving bribes, describing the allegations as “baseless, reckless, and malicious.”
