RE-ELECTED BENGUET LAWMAKER TO PRIORITIZE FIGHT VS. VEGGIE SMUGGLING
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet
Reelected Benguet congressman Eric Yap said Wednesday he would prioritize efforts against vegetable smuggling to protect the industry that fuels the province’s economy. “Ipagpapatuloy pa rin natin ang mga effort on anti-smuggling ng vegetables para sa protection ng ating mga kababayan sa Benguet (We will pursue efforts on anti-smuggling of vegetables for the protection of our province-mates in Benguet),” Yap said during a media interview. He said he is glad thatformer senator Panfilo Lacson, a staunch anti-smuggling advocate, is returning to the Senate. “Siya ang nagpu-push ng pag-conduct ng hearing sa Senado (He is the one pushing for hearings at the Senate),” he added. The Cordillera region produces 85 percent of the country’s highland vegetables, with Benguet contributing 65 percent to 75 percent of the
total.
Other priorities
Meanwhile, Yap said his other priorities are providing scholarships to youths to help them gain a better future through good employment
opportunities, offering medical assistance, and building more infrastructure. “I hope matapos na natin ang Pilando bridge in three years (I hope the Pilando bridge would be completed in three years),” he said. Among the infrastructure projects under Yap’s first term is the Benguet Sports Complex, which enabled the province to host the Department of E duca t i on -a dm in i st er ed Cordillera Administrative
Region Athletic Association in 2025. Yap served his first term in 2019 as a “caretaker” while being a representative of the ACT-CIS Party-list after the death of congressman Nestor Fongwan. He was elected as a representative in 2022 and in the recent national and local
elections.
Liza Agoot/PNA
