ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Eric Yap. Image from his Facebook
MANILA, Philippines — ACT-CIS Partylist Rep. Eric Yap slammed a blogger who called him out over the naming of a laboratory in Benguet after him.
Just as the deliberations for the proposed budget of the Office of the President was set to begin, Yap, who chairs the House committee on appropriations, called the attention of blogger Jover Laurio who handles the online page “Pinoy Ako Blog.”
“Kahapon, napunta sa aking atensyon na merong isang Jover na blogger na nag-post siya. Pinost niya na bakit daw ipinangalan sa akin yung ospital sa Benguet, yung laboratory,” Yap said.
(Yesterday, it came to my attention this one blogger named Jover who posted something. He posted why a Benguet hospital, a laboratory, was named after me.)
“Tinatanong niya kung pera ko raw ba yun? Unang-una, ang sagot ko, opo, pera ko yun, dinonate ko at hindi ko alam na ganun ang ginawa ng taga-Benguet [General Hospital] out of gratitude,” the lawmaker added.
(He is asking if it was my personal money? First of all, my answer is yes, that’s my money which I donated, and I do not know that the people at Benguet General Hospital named that after me out of gratitude.)
Yap was responding to Laurio’s post on Sunday where the blogger said: “Yung gusto mong tanggalin ang pangalan ni Ninoy Aquino sa NAIA, tapos yung isang building pinangalan sa ‘yo kahit buhay ka pa?”
(When you want the name of Ninoy Aquino removed from Naia but then there is one building named after you even if you are still alive?)
Yap is one of the authors of House Bill No. 7031, which seeks to rename the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to “Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Pilipinas.”
But Yap said that he immediately talked to the officials of the Benguet General Hospital and asked that his name be removed from the building and instead name it after the province.
Yap’s tirades, however, did not end before throwing insults at Laurio.
“Ang akin lang, para kay Jover, nakita ko yung page niya, lahat na lang puro galit, puro maling impormasyon,” Yap said.
(Here’s my take, to Jover, I saw his page and all the contents seemed full of hate, pure wrong information.)
“Iisa lang ang tama sa impormasyon na pinost niya, kung saan meron dun na mukha niya na ipinipakita niya ano ang itsura ng COVID kung ito ay magiging tao,” he added.
(Only one thing is correct in his information that he posted, where he is showing his face that he claimed what a COVID should look like if the virus becomes human.)
Yap then called on the public to stop the spreading of “fake news” on social media and instead use the platform to promote awareness on how to fight COVID-19.
“Ito yung pagkakataon na tayong mga Pilipino ay magkaisa-isa. Kung hindi tayo magkaisa-isa, paano natin lalabanan ang COVID-19? Para matalo natin ang COVID-19, dapat tayo one Filipino,” Yap said.
(This is the right time that we as Filipinos should unite. If we will not unite, how can we fight COVID-19? We should be one Filipino so we can defeat COVID-19.)
‘Bawal kasi ang epal’
After Yap’s public pronouncements, Laurio posted a blog in response to the lawmaker.
“Nabasa ko tong sinabi niyo about me. Though wala namang connection ang itsura ko sa isyung niraise ko sa page, sagutin na lang kita ha,” Laurio said.
(I read what you have told me. Although my appearance does not have any connection of what I raised in the page, I’ll just answer you.)
“Una ang isyu, bawal kasi ang epal sa mga elected officials na gaya mo,” the blogger added.
(First of the issue, grabbing attention is not allowed to elected officials like you.)
Laurio cited the “Revised Guidelines on the Naming and Renaming of Streets, Public Schools, Plazas, Building, Bridges and other Public Structures” of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines which states that “[n]o local government units, institutions, places or buildings shall be named or renamed after a living person.”
“Kahit pa sabihin mo na may ginastos ka na sarili mong pera sa laboratory na yan since nasa gobyerno ka, at buhay ka pa, bawal pa rin,” Laurie said.
(Even if you spent something from you money to build laboratory like that since you are in government, and you are still living, it is still prohibited.)
“Though we don’t have solid evidence that indeed you used your hard earned money to splurge on that facility, as I said mali pa rin [it is still wrong],” the blogger added.
Instead of throwing insults, Laurio said Yap should be thankful that he was called out which led him to “decide to do the right thing.”
“Mukha man akong Covid19 sa paningin mo, at least hindi epal gaya niyo po. Matanong ko lang, troll po ba kayo? Kasi po same attitude po eh,” Laurio said.
(I may look like COVID-19 from your point of view, at least I am not an attention grabber like you. Let me ask you, are you a troll? Because it is the same attitude.)