A YouTube video claims that Santa Rosa, Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez has been expelled from the House of Representatives following a complaint lodged against him with the ethics committee.
This is false. Fernandez remains a member of the Lower House, and the ethics complaint against him has yet to be heard.
Uploaded on Jan. 27, the same day the complaint was filed, the video bore the headline:
“KAKAPASOK LANG Tikl0 na! DanFernandez Paalam Career na? Atty.T0pacio Sinampahan ng Ethics C0mplaint (Just in caught already! Dan Fernandez bids goodbye to career? Ethics complaint filed by Atty.Topacio).
Its thumbnail also bore the text: “TAPOS ANG CAREER NI DAN! GOODNEWS! DAN SINAMPAHAN NG ETHICS COMPLAINT! END OF DAN FERNANDEZ! TALSIK KA NGAYON SA KONGRESO (Dan Fernandez’s career is over! Good news! Ethics complaint filed against Dan! End of Dan Fernandez! Kicked out of Congress)?”
While a complaint was indeed filed against Fernandez, the House committee on ethics and privileges has not started its investigation nor recommended any sanction against the lawmaker.
Congress is now in recess and will resume its session on June 2.
The mere filing of an ethics complaint does not warrant an automatic expulsion from the lower house.
According to Article VI, Section 16 of the 1987 Constitution and the House rules, a lawmaker may be expelled from office upon the recommendation of the committee on ethics and a two-thirds vote of all House members.
The video emerged the same day that lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, filed an ethics complaint against Fernandez for “disregarding the constitutional rights of resource persons in legislative inquiries” during the House quad committee probe into illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators in the country.
Topacio is the legal counsel of Cassandra Ong, the authorized representative of Lucky South 99, a POGO hub based in Clark, Pampanga that was raided and shut down by authorities.
Uploaded by YouTube channel PINAS NEWS HEADLINES, the video received 41,499 interactions. Facebook users reposted the link.
