MANILA – AGAP party-list’s Cong. Nicanor Briones has reportedly been removed from the Commission on Appointments (CA) following public backlash over a viral video showing him watching a cockfight during a session of the House of Representatives.
Briones, who represented the House Minority bloc in the powerful appointments body, was replaced by LPGMA party-list’s Cong. Allan Ty, according to a report by Politiko.
The controversy erupted after a video circulated online showing Briones viewing what appeared to be a cockfight during the House plenary session. The lawmaker admitted he was the one in the video but denied engaging in online gambling, claiming the video was merely sent to him by a relative.
“Hindi naman e-sabong kaya ang tawag ko nga ay fake news. Akala ng iba ay e-sabong. E unang-una hindi ako marunong tungkol sa mga online sabong na ‘yan, online gaming. Wala akong G-Cash, wala ako ng money transfer, ‘yun ang kailangan diyan dapat marunong ka,” said Briones.
He explained that he only opened the video out of courtesy.
“Tinitignan ko dahil gusto nilang ipakita na maayos yung manok na kanilang ipakikita,” he added. “Wala nga yung tari, yung parang, hindi talaga sabungan yung makikita naman… na practice, kaya sabi ko ano ba naman ‘yan. Kahit minsan hindi ako pumasok sa sabungan eh.”
Briones further emphasized that the incident occurred during a lengthy voting period for the speakership and claimed he was momentarily distracted by the message.
“Sa totoo lang syempre bahala na ang leadership ng Congress dahil hindi maganda na kahit sino sa amin ay pwedeng ganun, hindi tinatanong biglang lalabasan ka ng news na nag-o-online sabong. Eh syempre may nag-message sa ‘yo syempre titignan mo. Ang botohan ng speakership ay hindi lang naman isang oras, 300 kaming bumoto. So napatingin ako dun sa nag-message,” he said.
Briones said he only wanted to clear his name and defend the integrity of the AGAP party-list and the House of Representatives. He expressed readiness to face any ethics complaint that may be lodged against him./PN
