LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Re-elected Representative Eric Yap said that the province will definitely suffer from the serious consequences of having no lawmaker to represent Benguet in the House of Representatives by July 1, 2025 if the pending disqualification cases against him will push through.
Yap, whose proclamation was suspended by the Provincial Board of Canvassers (PBOC) upon orders from the Commission on Elections Second Division for an unresolved disqualification case in the past, was recently slapped with two separate disqualification cases that questioned his residency and allegations of massive vote buying.
“They do not know what they are doing and what the consequences will this bring to our province if Benguet will have no congressman by July 1,” Congressman Yap stressed.
Earlier, Mario Ludais of Mankayan, and Milton Ladiogan of Buguias filed separate petitions for disqualification against Yap that questioned his residency in Luacan, Itogon and vote buying, respectively, which are now pending resolution before the poll body.
In his petition, Ludais alleged that Yap illegally acquired his residence located at Alphaland in Itogon aside from sweeping allegations of vote buying while Ladiogan also cited instances of vote-buying having reportedly received the sum of PhP25,000 from a woman who did not divulge her identity but convinced him to support the embattled lawmaker.
“We answer these cases. I am not sure how long it will take dahil siguradong matatagalan nanaman because of these two new cases,” he added.
The lawmaker claimed that they do not know what they are doing and what consequences will this bring to Benguet if there will be no lawmaker who will represent the province in the House by the next term.
Yap was the subject for a separate petition for disqualification prior to the May 2022 synchronized national and local elections that was grounded on his residence but this was dismissed by the poll body for lack of merit as he was able to prove having appropriately acquired the Alphaland property.
The poll body’s Second Division ordered the suspension of Yap’s proclamation at around noon of 13, 2025 or a day after the conduct of the May 12 mid-term elections while he was about to be proclaimed by the PBOC after being overwhelmingly voted by the people of Benguet to serve as their representative to the House with more than 144,000 votes.
The suspension of proclamation was due to a pending unresolved petition for disqualification that was filed which was now grounded on his alleged citizenship.
For his part, Yap claimed that he was able to provide the necessary documents showing his true citizenship as a Filipino and have already answered this disqualification case, thus, it will just be a matter of time for the Commission to resolve the matter in time for the assumption to office of the newly elected officials by noon of June 30, 2025.
Netizens urged the petitioners to move on because the elections are over and that the province’s electorate have already spoken where Yap was overwhelmingly voted to serve his last term as Benguet’s representative to the 20th Congress.
Congressman urged the people of the province to be calm and sober relating to this temporary setback because he will do his best to get over the current challenges he is encountering but he will still continue serving the province because his term will still end by June 30.
In 2020, Yap was chosen to serve as the caretaker of the province’s legislative district following the untimely demise of the late Rep. Nestor Fongwan, Sr. and was subsequently elected as the regular Lone District Representative of Benguet to the House in the May 2022 elections. By Dexter A. See
