Ginger Diaz
Party list Representative Eric Yap has denied making the controversial statement, “Mga Frontliner, nagpapagamit para pabagsakin ang gobyerno,” after receiving a lot of backlash from the public.
He reportedly made this statement after medical frontliners asked for a return to stricter quarantine measures so they can have the chance to “breathe” as they are being overwhelmed by the steady rise of COVID-19 cases.
Yap was dismayed about people’s reactions and said that frontliners were allowing themselves to be used by those opposed to the government. His statement got the attention of various personalities like DJ Chacha, Nikki Valdez, Lyn Ching, Barnaby Lo, and many others.
In DJ Chacha’s tweet, she said, “Good morning Mr. Yap! Napakatalino ng Medical Frontliners para magpagamit. May sarili po silang utak. Hindi sila kailangan diktahan. Parang mas bagay yung word na nagpagamit sa ibang mga nasa posisyon sa gobyerno.”
Good morning Mr. Yap! Napakatalino ng Medical Frontliners para magpagamit. May sarili po silang utak. Hindi sila kailangan diktahan. Parang mas bagay yung word na nagpagamit sa ibang mga nasa posisyon sa gobyerno. pic.twitter.com/cPfRukykEJ
— DJ Chacha (@_djchacha) August 5, 2020
Unang Hirit host Lyn Ching said, “Guys, ingat sa mga binoboto nyo ha.”
https://twitter.com/Lynching7/status/1291208661969199104
Actress Nikki Valdez posted, “Mga frontliners pa talaga nagpapagamit? Sa totoo lang, this is the last thing they need to hear from you now, Cong. Yap.”
Mga frontliners pa talaga nagpapagamit? Sa totoo lang, this is the last thing they need to hear from you now, Cong. Yap. https://t.co/vaTRYmXzVw
— NVG (@nikkivaldez_) August 6, 2020
Journalist Barnaby Lo also gave his two cents on Yap. He tweeted, “Nagpapagamit? That’s insulting their intelligence. Nagrequest sila ng ‘time out’ para sa ating lahat dahil kung magkasakit sila sino mag-aalaga sa atin? Saan dun ang ‘pabagsakin ang gobyerno?’ Iyon corruption sa loob gaya ng sa Philhealth ang pwedeng magpabagsak… NG BANSA.”
Nagpapagamit? That’s insulting their intelligence.
Nagrequest sila ng “time out” para sa ating lahat dahil kung magkasakit sila sino mag-aalaga sa atin?
Saan dun ang “pabagsakin ang gobyerno?”
Iyon corruption sa loob gaya ng sa Philhealth ang pwedeng magpabagsak…
NG BANSA. pic.twitter.com/cdEAi8Hdlx
— Barnaby Lo (@barnabychuck) August 6, 2020
"Ani Yap, ginagamit ang mga frontliners para magalit ang publiko sa pamahalaan kahit pa marami nang nagawa ito para sa kanila."
NO. Inept, incompetent gov't officials themselves have angered the people. 🤬https://t.co/TtrU7WvTdt
— JC Punongbayan, PhD (@jcpunongbayan) August 6, 2020
In a recent update, the Congressman denied making the said statement.
“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. Dahil dyan, nagiging biktima sila,” he clarified.
This wasn’t the only controversy that the congressman faced. Just last month, he was also bombarded with backlash when he claimed that he received a phone call coming from an emissary of ABS-CBN saying that he would be paid 200 Million pesos if he voted “Yes” to ABS-CBN Renewal Franchise.
He answered, “Simple lang ang sagot ko, hindi for sale ang prinsipyo at boto ko.”
The people said that if what he actually said was true, he should’ve dropped the name of the said emissary. It is clearly an offense to the law. People and politicians berated Yap for engaging in waht seemed to be black propaganda.
However, ABS-CBN released an official statement saying, “ABS-CBN did not send an emissary to bribe any lawmaker to vote in favor of our franchise application. We believe in the process and we have participated in the process. We answered all issues raised in the past 12 hearings.”
