Frontliners letting themselves be used to topple gov’t? ‘I never said that’, says Yap

MANILA, Philippines — ACT-CIS Partylist Rep. Eric Yap denied a statement being attributed to him that frontliners are allowing themselves to be used to topple the government amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Yap made the denial after a photo with an overlay text, “Mga frontliner, nagpapagamit para pabagsakin ang gobyerno”, which is being attributed to him, made rounds on social media.

The said photo seems to be referring to Yap’s statement released August 4 where the lawmaker condemned individuals who are taking advantage of issues faced by frontliners to influence public opinion towards the government.

“I never said that. I strongly deny this statement came from me. Ito ay produkto ng pag-twist sa ating sinabi na sinasamantala ng ilang mga tao ang issue na kinakaharap ng mga medical frontliners para pabagsakin ang pamahalaan,” Yap said.

(I never said that. I strongly deny this statement came from me. My statement that some individuals are taking advantage of issues faced by medical frontliners to topple the government was twisted.)

“Dahil dyan, nagiging biktima sila. Wala sa anumang bahagi ng pahayag natin na sinabi ko na nagpapagamit ang medical frontliners para pabagsakin ang gobyerno. Ito ay malinaw na fake news,” the lawmaker added.

(Because of that, they are becoming victims. Nowhere in my statement does it say that medical frontliners are consciously allowing themselves to topple the government. This is a clear fake news.)

Yap clarified that his previous statement was “made in the context of some people taking advantage of COVID issues for their own political interest.”

“That is crystal clear. Nowhere in that statement that I said anything about our medical frontliner willingly allowing themselves to be used for others political agenda,” Yap said.

“In fact, I acknowledged their efforts and briefly mentioned about the concrete actions that the government is taking on right now,” the lawmaker added.

In his statement dated August 4, Yap lamented how some individuals are capitalizing on the issues being faced amid the pandemic—including those faced by frontliners—to attack the government.

“Nakakadismaya dahil maraming gumagamit at nagpapagamit sa mga taong gustong pabagsakin ang gobyerno para sa pansariling interest lang nila. COVID ang kalaban, hindi ang pamahalaan,” Yap said.

(It’s disappointing because there are a lot who are using and are being used by people who want to topple the government for their selfish interests. COVID-19 is the enemy, not the government.)

“Kung magtagumpay kayo at bumagsak ang pamahalaan, mawawala ba ang COVID? Yung mga medical frontliners natin ang ginagamit nyo ngayon para magalit ang tao sa pamahalaan kahit na napakaraming hakbang na ginagawa para sa kanila,” he added.

(If you succeed in toppling the government, will COVID-19 be eradicated? Our medical frontliners are being used so that the public will be mad at the government even if the government has a lot of measures being done to help frontliners.)

Yap said these individuals should instead put their focus on fighting the pandemic, and not the government.

JE