Benguet gov welcomes Yap as rep; SP still wants special polls
>> Monday, February 3, 2020
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Gov. Melchor Diclas led provincial officials here Monday at the Wangal Sports Center in welcoming party list congressman Eric Go Yap of ACT-CIS as caretaker of Benguet
The House of
Representatives appointed party Yap as congressional caretaker of Benguet after
the death of Rep.
Nestor Fongwan Sr. last December.
Despite this,
the Provincial Board still wants special elections to elect Fongwan Sr.’s
replacement.
Basing from social and
media reports, provincial constituents also wanted special elections.
Benguet Vice
Gov. Johnny Waguis earlier said they had informed House Speaker Alan Peter
Cayetano before the announcement of Yap
as caretaker congressman they wanted a special
election to elect a congressman for Benguet.
The Benguet Provincial Board on
Jan. 20, in resolution no. 2020-318, asked Congress to initiate the special election to fill the
post of Fongwan Sr.
Aside from Waguis, provincial board members
who signed the resolution were Robert M. Namoro, Ruben E. Paoad, Roberto K.
Canuto , Fernando M. Balaodan Sr., Jim G. Botiwey, Florencio V. Bentres,
Bernard Waclin, Juan M. Nazarro Jr., Alexander T. Fianza, Nestor T. Fongwan Jr.,
Sario M. Copas, Jeston S. Balong-angey and Melchor Guesey.
The board passed the
resolution informing the Lower House of the vacancy a month after Fongwan died,
Waguis said.
Waguis said the Provincial
Board has also sought a meeting with Cayetano as soon as possible to lobby for
the special election.
The resolution said the
special election would allow continuity of programs, projects and activities
“that redound to the utmost benefit of the province and its people.”
Fongwan’s son, Nestor Jr., who
is sitting as a board member being the Councilor’s League president of Benguet,
said his family supports the call for a special election.
He said they will appeal with
the Lower House to reconsider and instead initiate special polls to elect a
congressman from Benguet.
“We need a leader who will
represent the province in the Congress, not merely a caretaker,” Waguis earlier
said.
During
Fongwan's wake in December, Cayetano reportedly hinted at caretakership as the
solution.
Fongwan, 68, died on Dec. 18 due to acute
respiratory failure.
Yap is not a
Cordilleran and staunch supporter of President Duterte. His party-list
organization is associated with the Tulfo siblings, a Rappler report said.
Cordillera
legal luminaries said the designation of Yap as caretaker representative – if
it becomes permanent – will go against the law.
Republic
Act No. 6645, which provides for the filling of vacancies in the
legislature, states when a district representative's seat becomes vacant a year
or more before the term ends, a special election will be held for a new
representative.
Cayetano
named Yap to take over Benguet's lone congressional seat
in a caretaker capacity.
Yap is one of
the three representatives of ACT-CIS Party-List, which earned more than 2.6
million votes in the 2019 elections.
Gov. Diclas
earlier said he was expecting a different representative.
“Ang
inaasahan natin is coming from the Cordillera ang congressman na magke-caretaker
pero yun naman ang desisyon ng Congress. It is advantageous also in our
province at least may caretaker na tayo,” Diclas said.
The
province’s Commission on Elections has said besides appointing a caretaker
congressman, the House could also opt to hold special elections, although that
has not been discussed.
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