Wilbert Lee faces ethics complaint following House mic grab incident

Lee, who is accused by a lawmaker of “pretending to be a lawyer while aiming for a Senate seat,” says he is ready to explain his point of view once summoned by the ethics committee.

MANILA, Philippines – Two lawmakers have filed an ethics complaint against AGRI Rep. Wilbert Lee for grabbing another congressman’s microphone during the House budget deliberations for the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) in September.

House Appropriations Senior Vice President Stella Quimbo and fellow Vice President Angelica Natasha Co filed the matter with the Ethics Committee on Monday, October 14.

Co previously asked the House leadership to revoke Lee’s overseas travel authorization in the coming months as part of disciplinary action against him, in addition to the House lawmaker’s “sincere apology.” party list.

What happened

Last month, the House of Representatives raced against time to pass the proposed 2025 budget before taking a break on September 26.

That’s why lawmakers held a plenary session even after midnight on September 24, so that each agency’s funding requests could be approved.

But once lawmakers began tackling the DOH budget, Lee, after a lengthy speech, decided to postpone the proceedings, citing the lack of an overall plan from the agency and health insurer d PhilHealth report on reducing Filipinos’ medical expenses.

Co, the lawmaker speaking on behalf of the DOH as the budget sponsor, asked Lee if his request could be submitted the next day, but the latter did not relent.

On September 26, during a second round of debate, Deputy Minority Leader Paul Daza moved to end the deliberations, saying no other members of the parliamentary minority wished to question each other.

Minority member Lee grabbed Daza’s microphone in an effort to stop him from submitting the motion, but Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin quickly joined Daza in his motion, which Vice Speaker Duke Frasco agreed.

Hit your head

Since then, Lee has been the subject of lawmakers’ ire.

Co said Lee’s conduct was “unparliamentary, crude, crude and abhorrent”.

“Congressman Lee is doing everything to get noticed and gain popularity. He is an impostor who is simply pretending to be an advocate while aiming for a Senate seat. He was given ample time to challenge, and his ignorance of the rules does not excuse his lack of respect,” Co said on October 2.

Lee said Monday that he respected his colleagues’ decision to file a complaint against him, and added that he was ready to explain his version once summoned by the ethics committee.

“We remain steadfast in our goal to address the insufficient and extremely costly health benefits that we exposed last year and that the DOH and PhilHealth have neglected for over a decade,” he said.

Lee, a new MP, is running for senator, under the banner of the Aksyon Demokratiko party.

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He was identified in a report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism as one of the top campaign spenders on Facebook. – Rappler.com