The incident involving deputies José Carlos Barbosa and Filipe Melo on September 26 emerged after a senior member of André Ventura’s party, while serving as a deputy speaker of the Assembly of the Republic, made gestures deemed disrespectful to PS deputy Isabel Moreira. This conduct has been labeled as “inappropriate” by the Transparency Committee.
On the day of the incident, José Carlos Barbosa took to social media to describe the Chega leader as “daft,” prompting the latter to file a complaint against the socialist for defamation and violating conduct norms applicable to deputies.
According to the committee’s rules, disciplinary processes regarding deputies’ conduct are confidential and are not disclosed publicly, primarily to protect those involved.
José Carlos Barbosa, elected as a PS deputy from Porto, has now taken an unprecedented step by submitting a request to the Transparency Committee for his response to Filipe Melo’s complaint to be broadcast online.
“Since the inquiry directly involves my social media activity and has potential implications for my individual and political freedoms, it is crucial that the process unfolds with maximum transparency, allowing public scrutiny and preventing any arbitrary or distorted interpretations of the facts,” stated José Carlos Barbosa in the request to the Transparency Committee.
Accordingly, José Carlos Barbosa requests “the complete broadcast of the meeting, in observance of the principles of transparency, opposition, and the protection of the freedoms inherent to the parliamentary mandate.”
This request, acknowledged by PSD and Chega, raises concerns within the PS itself, which believes the matter is confidential and involving one of its deputies. Therefore, it argues that no exceptions contrary to the rules should be made.
In statements to Lusa agency, José Carlos Barbosa reiterated the necessity for public disclosure of his response to the complaint filed by Filipe Melo.
“The complaint [from Filipe Melo] constitutes a grave attack on my individual freedom and sets a serious precedent. In this parliament, members of the Chega bench have called other deputies swindlers with no repercussions. I called a foolish act by a member of the Assembly’s board, who has special duties of impartiality in their roles, foolish,” argued the PS deputy elected from Porto.
The PS deputy, an expert in transport, particularly in the rail sector, noted that Filipe Melo’s complaint is dated September 23.
This date is three days before the Chega deputy’s incident with PS constitutionalist Isabel Moreira on September 26 and José Carlos Barbosa’s subsequent social media postings.
“The objective discrepancy undermines any valid assessment, violating the duty to base decisions on true and verifiable facts, the principle of administrative rationality, and the constitutional requirement for good administration and good faith,” argues José Carlos Barbosa.
