LA TRINIDAD, Benguet– Benguet caretaker congressman and Anti-Crime and Terrorism through Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Eric Yap dared his critics to pursue their verdant desire to ruin his image before the people but they should spare the programmed development projects from being delayed or jeopardized just to advance their own personal and political interests since it will be their constituents that will suffer from their actuations.
Yap, who chairs the powerful House Committee on Appropriations, expressed disappointment that his critics have gone to the extent of writing the Office of the President, the Department of Budget and Management and other concerned government agencies not to release the funds that had been classified for later release that had been included in the 2021 annual budget of the national government purposely for road opening, farm to market roads, waterworks, among other projects that are beneficial in uplifting the development in the rural areas.
He welcomed the filing of cases that continue to question his residency among other qualifications to be a candidate for the province’s lone district Representative by self-styled individuals and groups, saying that the same is just another means of their efforts to discredit him in the eyes of the people.
The lawmaker claimed that the efforts of his detractors to jeopardize the implementation of already identified priority development projects in the province by requesting concerned government agencies not to release the funds that had been earmarked for the same is already uncalled for and casts doubts on their real intention in doing so as it will be their every constituents who will suffer the consequences of the non-implementation of the said projects.
However, Congressman Yap stipulated that if there is something good that happened in what his critics have earlier done to jeopardize the release of the funds for the identified priority projects, it was discovered by the implementing agencies that the identified projects are legitimate that is why the funds will be released probably by next month.
According to him, if not for the false information that had been provided by his critics to the concerned government agencies, the funds for the province’s priority projects had been released 6 months earlier where most of the projects were supposed to have been completed to date although it is not yet too late for the prosecution of the projects starting next month up to early next year.
Congressman Yap underscored that his detractors should not deprive their very own constituents with a chance to have better road networks, improved waterworks system, increased livelihood projects among other modes of development, especially in the remote villages, because it is the obligation of incumbent officials to work hard to bring development to the different parts of the province regardless what the cost will be.
He asserted that he will face the charges that were filed against him without fear because he came to the province to work for the development of Benguet which had not been actually done by previous leaders who were simply contented with what was available for their disposal. By HENT
