ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Eric Go Yap on Tuesday, April 12 said he is staking his life for the sake of the 130,000 Benguet farmers whose livelihood is being threatened by unabated agricultural smuggling.
Yap said this in his virtual appearance before the Senate Committee of the Whole hybrid hearing on the continued inflow of imported agricultural produce that is destroying Benguet's multi-billion peso agricultural industry.
‘’If it will take away my life, I will do it,’’ Yap told Senate President Vicente Sotto III, committee chairman, following allegations that a congressman is interfering in the seizure of agricultural produce by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) at the county’s ports.
Yap demanded that the name of the congressman must be disclosed because ‘’this is not very fair".
Sotto dared those who attended the hearing to mention names as they have parliamentary immunity even if they reveal names of the persons.
Agot Balanoy, public relations officer of the League of Associations at the Trinidad Trading area, said she fears for her security.
She asked aloud what would be the assurance she would get if she cooperates with the Senate.
Balanoy had lamented that imported agricultural produce such as carrots flood the market although the Department of Agriculture (DA) had testified that it has not given import permit for the importation of the vegetable.
‘’Is Agot referring to me? I have nothing to hide,’’ Yap snapped.
Yap expressed confidence that the Senate hearing would not be used to besmirch his reputation.
A ranking DA official earlier testified that an influential person had interfered with the work of the DA but later recanted this, saying that those who had called him only used the name of influential persons.
Earlier, Senator Cynthia Villar said Yap wanted to testify before the Senate but was not invited.
Sotto replied that he has not received any communication from Yap that he wanted to appear before the Senate and that nobody told the committee that Yap wanted to testify.
‘’He (Yap) called me, You bypassed me (as chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee),’’ Villar shot back.
‘ ’We did not bypass you. We only know now,’’ Sotto said.
Yap later appeared on the Senate video screen.