Benguet RTC affirms dismissal of ‘DQ’ versus Cong. Eric Yap

THE Regional Trial Court of Benguet has affirmed a lower court decision junking petitions to exclude the name of ACT-CIS partylist representative and Benguet caretaker congressman, Rep. Eric Go Yap, from the list of voters from the Municipality of Itogon.

In a news report last January 29, 2022, by ‘Herald Express,’ a local publication, Hon. Judge George Manaois Jr. of RTC Branch 10, dismissed the appeal filed by some groups thru one ‘Atty. Jerry Marave,’ seeking to disqualify Yap on the grounds that he is not a Filipino and that he is not a resident of Itogon.

In a unanimous vote last January 21, 2020, Congress designated Yap, also chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, as Benguet lone district ‘caretaker’ after the death in December 2019 of Rep. Nestor Fongwan Sr.

To better serve his new constituents, Yap last November 26, 2020, filed his application to transfer his voter’s registration to Itogon, citing his new address at Alphaland Baguio Mountain Lodge in Loacan.

Finding everything in order, the local office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) approved the application on January 18, 2021, designating Yap as a voter at the local precinct located at the Tocmo Elementary School in Loacan.

But last September 14, 2021, less than a month before the filing of the certificate of candidacy (COC) for the May 9, 2022 elections, several “concerned citizens” filed a petition before the Municipal Trial Court of Itogon seeking the exclusion of Yap’s name from the list of qualified voters.

Last January 2, 2022, the Herald also reported that the Itogon MTC dismissed the petition against Yap “for lack of merit.”

In a brief statement right after the decision, Yap said, “I’ve been saying all along, itong kasong isinampa sa akin ay pure harassment at isang desperate attempt upang tanggalan tayo ng karapatang bumoto at maiboto sa probinsiya.

“Nagsalita na po ang korte, malinaw na malinaw, qualified po tayong bumoto at maiboto sa Benguet.”

The higher court’s affirmation of the decision is seen to remove all legal obstacles placed by Yap’s opponents against his representing Benguet in Congress.

In dismissing the petition and the appeal, both courts noted that the petitioners have failed to present evidence to substantiate the grounds they raised against the lawmaker.

Judge Charlie Vallo of the Itogon MTC even went to the extent of noting that the petition is also a “fishing expedition” against Yap and that the affidavits presented against him are all “self-serving.”

“By themselves, generalized and pro forma affidavits cannot constitute relevant evidence which a reasonable mind may accept as adequate. There must be some other relevant evidence to corroborate such affidavits,” the court stressed.

Judge Manaois, for his part, said he finds no cogent reason to overturn the MTC’s findings and that the petitioners even used Yap’s own evidence against him.

“The court reminded the appellants that they must rely on the strength of their own evidence and not merely argue about the alleged inconsistencies in the documents of Congressman Yap as it has always been maintained that the burden of proof rests on who seeks the affirmative of an issue,” the Herald article noted further.

Meanwhile, Yap also laughed off allegations that he is involved in the “smuggling” of vegetable products that is competing with the local products of Benguet.

“I was never in the vegetable business, to begin with,” said Yap.

With the dismissal of the petitions against his candidacy, Yap said his opponents have now resorted to character assassination to besmirch his name and reputation before the people of Benguet and nearby areas.

“Since I was assigned in Benguet as the legislative caretaker, there were a number of influential individuals who did not really like my being here.

“What I promised the people is that I will be here to help uplift the status of the province and render service to the best of my ability, no more, no less. Despite the criticisms which are now going too personal, I will still continue to work to fulfill what I promised to the people of Benguet which is genuine public service,” Yap said in a statement released by his office.

As chair of the powerful appropriations committee, Yap bared that he even managed to convince the Department of Agriculture (DA) to procure 13 trucks, one for each of the 13 towns of Benguet, for the use of farmers in ensuring the delivery of their products to the nearest market.

Separately, Yap also procured a separate delivery truck for use by local farmers for free on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis.

Rather than answering the continuing barrage of fake news against him by his opponents, Yap instead challenged them to take part in helping those suffering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the local market still reeling from the pandemic, Yap, together with Gov. Melchor Diclas, last year gave out P5,000 in financial assistance each to some 300 farmers in Tuba to help them cope with the economic downturn.

Yap has also organized a ‘Mobile Tulong Program’ to attend to the basic needs of his constituents, especially during the hardest periods of the pandemic in 2020, the first year of his assignment as Benguet caretaker congressman.