By Robert B. Roque, Jr.
Cavite 4th District Rep. Kiko Barzaga had thought he could step out of the bounds of Congress, spit-firing — albeit, meowing — bravado and accusations at billionaire Enrique Razon Jr.
In the past few months, he has been earning likes, shares, and viral attention online for doing the same thing to colleagues in the House, as if politics were a barkada bashing. It has gotten him suspended, and now the Lower Chamber’s ethics body is moving to permanently kick him out.
But before that even happens, Razon has taught him a lesson his very colleagues could not: that social media is a venue where words carry legal weight. For a brief moment, Barzaga seemed convinced that socmed was his playground and that calling out a business titan to accuse him of buying congressional allies for former House Speaker Martin Romualdez would pass for courage.
All that, until Razon responded with a growl to Barzaga’s meowing. The international ports and hotel-casino magnate used the same platform for something far more devastating: receipts, law, and a cold-blooded clawback that reminded everyone why he sits atop global balance sheets.
Razon didn’t just deny Barzaga’s claims — he turned the lens around and asked the question that makes politicians squirm: where did your wealth come from? The ultra bilyonaryo also prepared a cyberlibel suit for damages amounting to P110 million.
It was here that the young congressman felt a slap that brought him back to his right senses. By early this week, Barzaga was backpedaling hard, suddenly contrite, suddenly purring that he has been “misunderstood,” suddenly willing to apologize — personally, no less.
He even admits that his accusations were not driven by principle, nor by some brave stand against power, but by sama ng loob (hurt feelings) — a pent-up grudge very much personal to him since Razon did not attend his father’s wake. He then said his father and Razon were once close, so that’s why he felt hurt.
That confession didn’t soften Barzaga’s position; it stripped him bare. What many mistook for a maverick streak was exposed as something far smaller — resentment. Not principle. Not courage. Just emotional immaturity curdled into public slander.
Razon’s clawback won netizens’ awe precisely because it was surgical. Just a business titan doing what serious people do when their name and enterprise are dragged through the mud — bite down, double down, and let truth, law, and consequence speak. It was a masterclass in how power is exercised responsibly, and how reputations are defended without hysteria.
Barzaga, by contrast, blinked. The meowing gave way to sputtering explanations. The bravado collapsed into apology. And the dangerous truth emerged: this was never about governance, or corruption, or conscience. It was about wounded pride.
Perhaps, he should retreat to his room, thinking whether or not he’s fit for Congress. Certainly, it is not a place for men who mistake personal grievance for public duty or who confuse emotional impulse with moral courage. Cong. Kiko, the government is not a place for child play.
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