In Defense of Kiko Barzaga
By Christopher Ryan Maboloc, PhD
Congressman Ronnie Puno has filed a case in the Ethics Committee against Congressman Kiko Barzaga for what the former says is a conduct unbecoming of a member of the House of Representatives. Puno alleged that the young lawmaker has put the institution in a bad reputation, citing the behavior of the former like barging into the office of Cong. Sandro Marcos to campaign for the speakership, posting obscene images on social media, sharing memes that put the Speaker, Senate President Tito Sotto, and other public officials in a bad light, including what Puno believes is a case of "inciting to sedition."
For instance, in reference to what happened in Nepal, Barzaga said "huwag nyo munang sunugin ang Congress may privilege speech pa ako sa Lunes." Puno also insinuates that Barzaga suffers from a "behavioral or mental problem", without of course mentioning it. Barzaga was late for the scheduled Ethics Committee hearing on the case filed by Puno, saying he stayed up late playing computer games. Whether he was being sarcastic or not, online videos show that Barzaga joined a couple hundred of protesters near Forbes Park, though the police prevented them from entering the exclusive subdivision where the country's richest and most powerful live.
But is Puno correct in his assessment of the young politician? Not really. What Kiko Barzaga is doing is what is called disruptive politics (See Dikec 2017). It is a new phenomenon in politics that seeks to challenge the status quo. (Ex. Occupy Wall Street, Arab Spring, Nepal Protests) It opens a new domain in political engagement using new means to engage in polemics, but as you notice, the strategies and approaches of Barzaga using social media are effective. It makes his point noticeable. The purpose of disruptive politics is to disturb or even rattle the elites. When the established norms in society are so powerful (in our case, patronage politics), formal venues of debates no longer work. To advance the cause of the marginalized, disruption in the political order becomes a preferred model.
To illustrate the above, Puno and some of his colleagues in Congress complain about the behavior of Barzaga as rude. Yet, Barzaga has been vocal about corruption in Congress, budget insertions, kickbacks in flood control projects, and even called out President Bongbong Marcos to resign. Unlike Senate Bam Aquino who is a establishment politician, the unusual approach of Barzaga is inflammatory, but it is making sense because he is challenging the status quo and those who are in positions of power. In one social media post, he mocked Congress itself by singing "Upuan." Normally, this is seen as wrong behavior. But we don't live in normal times. It doesn't help Puno when he mentions that he might be old and Barzaga is just young and immature. Young people nowadays do not think wisdom is a matter of age.
Now, when a new concept is introduced, it is normal for people to be critical about it. The problem however is that they often mistake the trees for the forest. The fact that Barzaga belongs to a political family doesn't diminish his credibility as a harsh critic of the Marcos administration. Rather, it provides solid proof of the very dysfunctional nature of Philippine democracy. If we had a good society, if the House of Representatives were an institution of noble men, you would not have a need for a disruptive figure like Barzaga, who to his enemies is not normal but to the other side of the political fence, is the right prescription in our abnormal political situation.
What the Philippines needs is change. That change cannot come from a singular path. There are obstacles to reform. Barzaga is not one of them. Puno always talks about the late father of the young congressman who was a part of the political establishment, saying that he is doing this to honor the memory of the same. Puno is proud to say that the late lawmaker was a good friend and also a good lawmaker. Precisely, it is this type of practice that the young Barzaga is trying to defy - the politics of friendship. When politics is based on such relationships, you don't speak about principles but of simple political favors. So, the truth of the matter is that, Barzaga's old man must be proud of his young boy.
