In recent weeks, Filipinos have been introduced to Gen Z Rep. Francisco "Kiko" Austria Barzaga of Dasmariñas, Cavite. Formerly part of the majority, he resigned from the ruling Partido Federal Party and established himself as an independent lawmaker. He’s been the subject of many talks and insinuations, from his unusual and eccentric personality to whispers about his mental health. But it does not change the fact that this rather unusual young representative is saying the right things, stuff that ordinary Filipinos want to hear; that the corruption in flood control projects leads to former speaker Martin Romualdez.
As speaker during the 2023, 2024, and 2025 budget deliberations, Romualdez should at least have been cognizant of these anomalies. As Barzaga puts it, either Romualdez is corrupt and part of the flood control mafia, or at the very least was inept and incompetent for allowing these billions of pesos to be stolen left and right. For many lawmakers, Kiko Bargaza has indeed been a thorn in their side and sycophants of the ruling party have filed ethics complaints against the neophyte congressman.
The family name Barzaga is of Spanish origin, derived from barza (“bramble”) + -aga (“place of/abundance of”), meaning “place with brambles.” The name is a relatively uncommon surname and is found in the Catalogo Alfabetico de Apellidos. Because of their thorns, brambles are often associated with wildness, difficulty, or obstacles. A very apt description of Rep. Barzaga, indeed.
The Barzagas are a political dynasty in Dasmariñas, Cavite. The modern Barzaga clan’s began with Elpidio “Pidi” Frani Barzaga Jr., who served as Dasmariñas mayor and as congressman for the old 2nd and the 4th Districts. However, the family's story goes older than Pidi. In the early 1800s, Domingo was born in Imus, Cavite. Prior to the Claveria surname decree of 1849, his family had been using 'Bautista' as a family name. The modern Barzaga family simply adopted the surname in accordance with the Claveria decree. Domingo Bautista would later marry Eusebia de los Reyes, and by 1850 had become Domingo Barsaga Bautista, until his family would later use Barsaga (and much later the more Spanish-sounding Barzaga) exclusively. Domingo and Eusebia had several children, including Hermogenes Barzaga, who married Manuela Enano. One of their children was Francisco Barzaga, the namesake of the current Kiko Barzaga who served as municipal president of Dasmariñas, Cavite in 1900 and then from 1922 to 1924. His son, Elpidio Barzaga, was the father of Elpidio Barzaga Jr.
A Barzaga legacy is converting Dasmariñas from a municipality into a component city, who was sponsored by then-Rep. Elpidio F. Barzaga Jr. Pidi’s wife Jennifer “Jenny” Austria Barzaga, was mayor (2007–2016; 2019–present) and congresswoman (2016–2019), the first city mayor after cityhood in 2009 and has repeatedly won reelection. Their son Francisco “Kiko” A. Barzaga served as city councilor (2019–2025) and became representative of Cavite’s 4th District in 2025; his brother Elpidio “Third” Barzaga III became vice mayor in 2025.
Centuries ago, the first of Kiko Barzaga's ancestors settled in what is now modern-day Cavite, first in Imus and then in Dasmariñas. The city's name itself holds many symbolisms. Dasmariñas refers to “of the marinas or coasts.” In Castilian and Galician contexts, marina didn’t just mean “harbor” –it referred broadly to fertile coastal plains and maritime regions, often wealthy and strategic and connoted a sense of being tied to exploration, conquest, and commerce. In Catholic Spain, the sea was a biblical and spiritual metaphor and represented the vastness of God’s creation and the trials of life’s journey.
Whatever the deal is with Rep. Kiko Barzaga, it cannot be denied that in genealogical terms, he symbolizes defiance, strength and, as his own last name suggests, being a (very welcome) thorn to the powers that be that continue to rule the Philippines like it is their playground.
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