Arthur C. Yap
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Arthur "Art" Cua Yap (; born November 10, 1965) is a Filipino
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
who is the former governor of
Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol (; ), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. It is home to Bohola ...
from 2019 to 2022. He was the secretary of the Department of Agriculture under the Arroyo administration from 2004 to 2005 and from 2006 to 2007. He became a member of the
House of Representatives of the Philippines The House of Representatives (; '','' thus commonly referred to as ''Kamara'') is the lower house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the Senate of the Philippines as the upper house. The ...
, representing the 3rd District of Bohol from 2010 to 2019.


Early life and education

Yap was born on November 10, 1965, in
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
. He is the eldest among the three children of Domingo Yap and Natividad Cua. His father was born in
Jolo Jolo () is a volcanic island in the southwest Philippines and the primary island of the province of Sulu, on which the capital of the same name is situated. It is located in the Sulu Archipelago, between Borneo and Mindanao, and has a populatio ...
,
Sulu Sulu (), officially the Province of Sulu (Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Wilaya' sin Lupa' Sūg''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago. It was part of the Bangsamoro, Bangsamoro Autonomous R ...
and is of
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
- Tausug descent while his mother, also with Chinese ancestry, was from
Dagupan Dagupan , officially the City of Dagupan (, , ), is a 2nd class independent component city in the Ilocos Region, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 174,302 people. Located on Lingayen Gulf on the northwest-central ...
,
Pangasinan Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan (, ; ; ), is a coastal Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capital is Lingayen, Pangasinan, Lingayen while San Carlos, Pangasi ...
. For his elementary and high school education, Yap studied at
Xavier School Xavier School ( zh, s=光啓学校, t=光啓學校, p=Guāngqǐ Xúexìao, poj=Kong-khé Ha̍k-hāu; also referred to by its acronym XS) is a private, Catholic, college preparatory school run by the Catholic Order of the Society of Jesus. It ...
from 1973 to 1983. He went to Ateneo de Manila University for college and graduated in 1987 with a degree in management economics. He was a dean’s lister during this time and had
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...
as his economics professor. He was also a student leader in high school and college, and was present at
EDSA Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, commonly referred to by its acronym EDSA (), is a major Ring road, circumferential road around Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It passes through 6 of Metro Manila's 17 local government units or citi ...
during the
People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...
. He went to the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law for his Juris Doctor's degree and was admitted to the bar in 1992.


Career

While studying, Yap was recruited by a professor to join the Balane, Barican, Cruz, Alampay Law Office. He worked there for about two years. After being admitted to the bar, he was recommended by Fr.
Joaquin Bernas Joaquin Guevara Bernas SJ (July 7, 1932 – March 6, 2021) was a Jesuit priest, lawyer, college professor and writer who was Dean Emeritus of the Ateneo de Manila Law School in Makati, Philippines. He was a member of the 1986 Constitutional ...
to join the law office of former
Associate Justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...
Adolfo Azcuna Adolfo Sevilla Azcuna (born February 16, 1939) is a Philippines, Filipino jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 2002 to 2009. He was a ...
. Because of that, he became an associate lawyer of the Azcuna, Yorac, Sarmiento, Arroyo, Cua Law Office. In the late 1990s, Yap co-founded a law office with Paulino Ejercito and Karlo Butiong. The latter served as the external corporate counsel for DHY Realty and Development Inc., a family-owned corporation in which Yap and his father held the positions of vice president and president, respectively. This company became the subject of a tax evasion complaint filed by the
Bureau of Internal Revenue The Bureau of Internal Revenue'' ''(BIR; ) is a revenue service for the Philippine government, which is responsible for collecting more than half of the total tax revenues of the government. It is an agency of the Department of Finance and i ...
, alleging actions dating back to 1997. However, this complaint was subsequently dismissed by the
Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
in October 2005. Yap first entered government service in August 2001 as president and CEO of the Philippine International Trading Corporation under the
Department of Trade and Industry Department of Trade and Industry may refer to: Current * Department of Trade and Industry (Isle of Man) * Department of Trade and Industry (Philippines) * Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (South Africa) Former * Department of Trade ...
. Thereafter, he served as the administrator of the National Food Authority for two years and as
Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
Undersecretary for Luzon Operations, after which was a brief stint as the Secretary of Agriculture. He was one of the youngest to be appointed to the Cabinet of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He was also designated as the Development Champion for the North Luzon
Agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...
Quadrangle (NLAQ). He then left the post in July 2005 to give way to Domingo Panganiban. In December 2005, he became Presidential Adviser for Job Creation. He then became the 15th Director General of the Presidential Management Staff, the fifth post he had been designated to in the Arroyo administration. He was appointed again as Agriculture Secretary in October 2006, serving until his resignation in February 2010 to run as a member of the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
. From 2010 to 2019, Yap was a congressman representing the third district of Bohol. While there, he held various positions such as being assistant minority leader of the Committee on Rules, vice-chairman of the Committees on Globalization And WTO, Government Enterprises And Privatization, and Ecology, chairman of the Committees on Reforestation and Economic Affairs, and being the deputy speaker from 2018 to 2019. During the
2019 Philippine gubernatorial elections Gubernatorial elections were held in the Philippines on May 13, 2019. All provinces elected their provincial governors for three-year terms, who will be inaugurated on June 30, 2019 after their proclamation. Governors that are currently serving ...
, Yap ran for governor of Bohol under
PDP–Laban The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP, ) is a populist political party in the Philippines founded in 1982. It was previously known as Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP–Laban) from 1983 to 2024 as a result of a merger with L ...
, the party of
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...
. His opponents included former
Cabinet Secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...
Leoncio Evasco. Yap won by a slim margin of 2,161 votes garnering 326,895 votes against Evasco’s 324,734. He took his oath on June 30, 2019, officially becoming Bohol's 26th governor. Yap, with only 283,903 lost to
Erico Aristotle Aumentado Erico Aristotle Cabagnot Aumentado (born December 29, 1977), also known in Bohol as Aris, is a Filipino businessman and politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives, representing the second district of Bohol. He is the Governor o ...
who garnered 469,736 in the 2022 Bohol local elections.


Controversies

In a January 18, 2023 14-page SC Third Division
Decision Decision may refer to: Law and politics *Judgment (law), as the outcome of a legal case *Landmark decision, the outcome of a case that sets a legal precedent * ''Per curiam'' decision, by a court with multiple judges Books * ''Decision'' (novel) ...
, Justice Japar Dimaampao ordered the dismissal of
Philippine Rice Research Institute The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) is a government corporate entity attached to the Department of Agriculture created through Executive Order 1061 on November 5, 1985 (as amended) to help develop high-yielding and cost-reducing te ...
car plan charges against Yap based on violation of his
speedy trial In criminal law, the right to a speedy trial is a human right under which it is asserted that a government prosecutor may not delay the trial of a criminal suspect arbitrarily and indefinitely. Otherwise, the power to impose such delays would ...
rights. The Supreme Court’s Third Division, in a 29-page April 15, 2024 Judgment granted Yap's
Petition for review In some jurisdictions, a petition for review is a formal request for an appellate tribunal to review the decision of a lower court or administrative body. If a jurisdiction utilizes petitions for review, then parties seeking appellate review of th ...
on
Certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of a prerogative writ in England, issued by a superior court to direct that the recor ...
against the
Sandiganbayan The Sandiganbayan () is a special Appellate court, appellate collegial court in the Philippines that has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving Graft (politics), graft and corrupt practices and other offenses committed by public ...
’s Third Division ruling. He was
acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an o ...
of alleged two counts of
graft Graft or grafting may refer to: *Graft (politics), a form of political corruption *Graft, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Graft-De Rijp Science and technology *Graft (surgery), a surgical procedure *Grafting, the joining of plant ti ...
and misuse of congressional 2007 to 2009
pork barrel ''Pork barrel'', or simply ''pork'', is a metaphor for allocating government spending to localized projects in the representative's district or for securing direct expenditures primarily serving the sole interests of the representative. The u ...
.


Personal life

Yap is married to Carolyne Varquez-Gow, a native of Loboc, Bohol. Together they have 2 children. He speaks Tagalog, English and Cebuano (both Standard and Boholano dialect).


External links

*


References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Yap, Arthur 1965 births Living people Governors of Bohol Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Bohol Secretaries of agriculture of the Philippines Advisers to the president of the Philippines Heads of the Presidential Management Staff of the Philippines Lakas–CMD politicians Partido Demokratiko Pilipino politicians Ateneo de Manila University alumni Arroyo administration cabinet members Filipino politicians of Chinese descent Deputy speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Grand Crosses of the Order of Lakandula