Tinututukan ngayon ng maraming Pilipino ang isinasagawang pagdinig ng Senado at Kongreso sa flood control projects scandal.
Patunay nito ang mataas na viewership sa telebisyon at social media platforms na umaabot sa milyun-milyon ang bilang.
Maikukumpara ang isinasagawang pagsisiyasat sa maanomalyang flood control projects sa mga teleserye na bukod sa maraming plot twists, patuloy na nadaragdagan ang mga karakter.
Ang sinasabing "main characters" sa "politikaserye" na ito ay ang mag-asawang contractors na sina Curlee at Sarah Discaya.
Nasa "cast" din ang mga kongresista na idinawit ng mag-asawa sa isyu, ang mga tauhan ng Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) na sina Engineers Henry Alcantara at Brice Hernandez, mga kontratista, Ako Bicol Party-List Representative Rizaldy Co, at nepo babies na tinaguriang Disney Princesses at Princes.
Read: Discayas name congressmen who allegedly took cuts from DPWH deals
"CONGRESSMEOW" VS SPEAKER MARTIN ROMUALDEZ
Si Cavite Fourth District Representative Francisco “Kiko” Barzaga ang bagong karagdagan sa listahan ng mga tampok sa teleserye ng tunay na buhay.
"Congressmeow" ang bansag ni Barzaga sa sarili dahil isinusulong niya ang animal welfare.
Nang kumandidato si Barzaga bilang kinatawan ng fourth district ng Cavite sa halalan noong Mayo 2025, pinag-usapan ang kanyang campaign posters dahil sa paggamit niya ng mga larawan ng mga pusa.
Nitong Miyerkules, Setyembre 10, 2025, muling gumawa ng ingay si Barzaga nang tumiwalag ito mula sa kanyang partido, ang National Unity Party.
Naging laman ng balita si Barzaga nang idineklara niyang dapat imbestigahan si House Speaker Martin Romualdez tungkol sa kaugnayan nito sa mga anomalya sa flood control public funds.
Read: Zaldy Co, Martin Romualdez deny kickback claims by the Discayas
Naging mas mapangahas si Barzaga kay Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong tungkol sa espekulasyong si Romualdez ang pinuno ng highly organized syndicate na sangkot umano sa flood control project anomalies.
Kung si Magalong ay ngumiti lamang sa tanong ng reporters, si Barzaga ay walang pag-aatubiling binanggit ang pangalan ng House Speaker.
Ito ay matapos tanungin ang dahilan ng pagtiwalag niya mula sa National Unity Party, na pinamumunuan ni Antipolo First District Representative Ronaldo Puno.
Ang buod ng kanyang panayam sa mga reporters ay inilahad ni Barzaga sa isang statement na kanyang ipinost sa Facebook.
Pahayag niya rito: “I, Congressman Kiko Barzaga, will discuss a matter that I believe concerns not just my party, but the nation as a whole.
“Yesterday night, I have been informed that Deputy Speaker Puno, the chairman of the National Unity Party, implicated me in a plot to remove Speaker Romualdez from his position, and that I am collecting signatures to do so. That notion is false.
“My statement regarding Deputy Speaker Puno’s resignation during our Party’s meeting earlier this week was also misinterpreted. The intent of my message was that he should resign if his removal was inevitable, and that the reputation of the lower house as a whole is not one that he is capable of defending, nor is it in his best interest to do so.
"I did not state anything negative about his performance or the performance of the house."
Read: Arjo Atayde on Discayas: "I’ve never dealt with them."
Saad pa ng batang kongresista: “I have spent my political career advancing the interests of the party, even if said interests necessitate conflict with my own family. Like what occurred during the 2022 elections, I still chose to agree to the collective decision of the party over my family’s personal wishes.
“While the betrayal of trust is disappointing, I believe it is in the best interests of both myself and the National Unity Party that we go our separate ways. I will also be leaving the majority since I voted for Speaker Romualdez due to my party’s instructions."
Kasunod nito ay sinabi ni Barzaga na dapat imbestigahan si Romualdez dahil sa pagkakaugnay ng pangalan nito sa maanomalyang flood control projects.
“I supported Speaker Romualdez due to this, though now that I am free from my party’s constraints, I suggest that he must be investigated for any anomalies involving Flood Control Public Funds.
“Specifically during the time when he was given the caretaker position of my district upon my father’s death on April 27, 2024.
"That will be all, thank you and have a great day!”
KIKO BARZAGA ON VICO SOTTO
Hindi natapos sa pagtiwalag ni Barzaga sa NUP ang kontrobersiya.
Sinundan niya ito ng Facebook posts tungkol kay Romualdez, na tinawag niyang "untouchable."
Saad niya sa isang post, kalakip ang larawan ni Barzaga na may kasamang pusa: “My goal here isn’t to have Speaker Romualdez judged guilty of any crime, my intention is to show the people that no matter what they do, Speaker Martin Romualdez is untouchable."
Hindi rin daw maaaring ikumpara sa isyu ni Romualdez ang isinasagawang imbestigasyon ni Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto sa maanomalyang flood control projects.
Bagamat alam daw niyang mabuti at tapat si Mayor Vico, at ginagawa nito ang kanyang makakaya para sa Pasig at sa bansa, magiging limitado ang options nito para sa imbestigasyon dahil sa pagiging malapit daw ng tiyuhin ni Mayor Vico na si Senate President Tito Sotto kay Speaker Romualdez.
Saad niya: “The Romualdez issue is incomparable with Vico Sotto’s investigation, I firmly believe that Mayor Vico is a good, honest man that is doing what is best for his city and country, but Tito Sotto’s closeness with Romualdez is limiting his options for investigation.”
Sa edad na 27, si Kiko Barzaga ang pangalawa sa pinakabatang miyembro ng 20th Congress.