Rep. Wilbert Lee faces ethics complaint for 'aggression' during budget debate

MANILA, Philippines — Two lawmakers filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Wilbert Lee on Monday, October 14, after he had allegedly subjected them to “acts of aggression” during the House plenary debates on the proposed 2025 budget. 

Rep. Stella Quimbo (Marikina, 2nd District) and Rep. Angelica “Nikka” Co (BHW Partylist), serving as budget sponsors for the Department of Health (DOH), submitted the complaint against Lee (AGRI Partylist) to the Committee on Ethics and Privileges.  

Lee had been persistent in pressing DOH and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. for better benefit packages to reduce out-of-pocket expenses. 

His 30-minute interpellation on September 23 raised concerns about these packages, leading to the deferral of the DOH’s budget deliberation to September 25, the final day of discussions.

Lee attempted to suspend the plenary debates once more on September 25 but failed to do so. 

What happened? During the session, just as Rep. Paul Daza (Northern Samar, 1st District) moved to terminate the plenary debates for the agency’s budget, Lee quickly grabbed the microphone in protest.

However, Lee’s actions failed to stop the motion. He was only able to say, in Filipino, “Is this how we do things here?” 

In a statement, Quimbo described what she and Co had seen Lee do even before he attempted to defer the budget again. 

While Daza was conducting his interpellation, Quimbo said that Lee repeatedly “pointed his finger” at the budget sponsors “with force,” noting that this occurred around 6:30 p.m. 

“Nikka Co and I were subjected to acts of aggression by Rep. Wilbert Lee. While standing at podium number 3, Rep. Lee pointed his finger at us repeatedly and with force and later on, moved towards,” Quimbo said in a statement.

Feeling physically threatened by Lee’s behavior, Quimbo said she instinctively hid behind the podium for her safety. 

“From my perspective, his actions, particularly, his moving forward with his hand and eye movement — were an attempt to assault,” she said.

Following the termination of the budget hearing, Quimbo said it was evident in the livestream how deeply affected she and Co were, as they both cried.

In the September 25 livestream of