Yap Benguet congressman; SP pushes special elections

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- The House of Representatives has appointed party list congressman Eric Go Yap of ACT-CIS as caretaker of Benguet after the death of Rep. Nestor Fongwan Sr.

Benguet Gov. Melchor Diclas announced this Monday, but the Provincial Board wants special elections to elect Fongwan Sr.’s replacement.

Provincial constituents in social and media reports, also said they wanted special elections saying either Baguio Rep. Marques Go or Mountain Province Rep. Maximo Dalog Jr. could take over as caretaker congressman since they are Benguet's neighbors.

Others however said Yap could fill in the post considering he is an outsider and not bound by parochial Benguet or Cordillera politics.

When the father of Mountain Province's Rep. Maximo Dalog Jr, died in June 2017, it was Kalinga Rep. Allen Jesse Mangaoang who was named caretaker of the province.

Benguet Vice Gov. Johnny Waguis 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 Monday, 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 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.

Before his election as Benguet’s lone district representative, Fongwan served as mayor of this capital town, and as governor, each spanning three terms.

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.

Fongwan won in the May 2019 election, and died in December.

Yap's appointment was made barely 40 days after the seat was vacated.

Judging from the reactions on Facebook, Benguet supporters were either surprised, disgusted, or open to the choice.

Many were in favor of holding a special election.

Cayetano named Yap to take over Benguet's lone congressional seat

in a caretaker capacity.

Referred to as “action man” by Benguet people, Fongwan died on December 18, 2019, because of an illness. 

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 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 that besides appointing a caretaker congressman, the House could also opt to hold  special elections, although that has not been discussed.

Yap, who vowed to look out for the Benguet people’s needs, said in an ABS-CBN report he will man his office in the province Mondays to Fridays.

His first visit in Benguet as caretaker congressman was set last weekend.

Meanwhile, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Baguio was supposed to file a resolution endorsing City Rep. Go as caretaker congressman to help push swift passage of a House bill on the establishment of the Baguio, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba and Tublay Development Authority.

But Go said he would rather focus on his duties as Baguio legislator.

Caretakers designated by past Speakers had met criticism as well – such as when Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appointed Pangasinan's Rose Marie Arenas as caretaker of Batanes, and Feliciano Belmonte Jr appointed Akbayan's Kaka Bag-ao as Dinagat caretaker. They all cited tradition.