Trying to interview Congressman Arthur Cua Yap (ACY) is next to impossible, what with his hectic schedule and job that seldom peg him in one spot. As the incumbent Congressman of the Third District of Bohol, he has to be in Metro Manila most of the time and, if he is in Bohol, with his constituents even in the remotest Barangays. It is in personally being with them that he derives inspiration in performing his job as a Lawmaker, and the strength to survive in the political arena which is sometimes like being inside “a washing machine.” Through his local staff, I asked for an appointment six weeks ago, and was able to schedule one at the Prawn Farm of ICM. He just planed in from Manila, and rushed to the pinpointed venue at 10 AM. Over coco-juice, he was generous with opening a part of his life. But even before I was through with my questions, he was informed that his father (they did not take the same flight) just arrived as planned, and he had to be with them.

One good thing about the rare opportunity of talking with him “One-On-One” is his ability to communicate and spontaneous candidness. We covered a lot of ground inspite of the very limited time; and before parting, he told me we could meet again.

LMP: Who is Arthur Yap?

ACY: A Boholano by choice who finds fulfillment in public service.

LMP: More about the Congressman of the Third District of Bohol. Your forebears.

ACY: My mother, Natividad Cua, was brought up in Dagupan, Pangasinan where my grandfather had a dry goods store. They were selling textile. When my maternal grandfather came from China as a boy, he was brought to Northern Luzon. Whereas on my father’s side, it was my great grandfather who came to Zamboanga City as a trader. He married a Tausug woman by the name of Maria Alfonso. My grandfather was born in Jolo, as well as my father, Domingo Hao Yap. That’s where I traced my Mindanaoan roots and my Tausug blood.

LMP: It’s a good combination, a handy and persevering lineage. Did your father find time to go to school (considering that he must be a busy man who made every minute count)?

ACY: He studied in Zamboanga Chong Hua High School and Ateneo de Zamboanga. He went to Manila in 1957 to take up a business degree at the Lyceum University. One of his standout classmates was Speaker Sonny Belmonte.

LMP: For a young man to study in Manila... he must be well-funded?

ACY: No, he had to feign for his own keeps. He had to find employment to survive. While studying, he was working as a gasoline boy.

LMP: A sort of a self-made man. Did he finish his studies?

ACY: After graduating from college, my father entered the Company of Hans Menzi. He was selling Señorita notebooks and Mongol pencils. He also went into selling zippers.

LMP:And he met your mother?

ACY: That was how he met my mother, because his territorial coverage was up to the North, and all the Provinces in-between Baguio and Manila. He managed to enter the store of my grandfather in Dagupan, and started courting my mother. They got married and settled in Manila where I was born on November 10, 1965. Until today, my father knows the number of kilometers from any point to another point of the entire Luzon. Then, he decided to venture on his own business after that.

LMP: How many are you in the family?

ACY: We are three and I am the eldest. I have a brother who is eight years my junior, Alex, who is helping my father in our Paint Company. He finished Marine Studies at Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro.

LMP: Why Mindanao, when there are many good schools in Metro Manila?

ACY: He studied in Cagayan de Oro City because he wanted to go out into the field. He is very adventurous, and he wanted a school that is very near the mountains, rivers, and all that. So, I made an arrangement with the Jesuit Fathers to have my brother at least study in Ateneo de Cagayan.

LMP: How is he now?

ACY: Now, he is handling the operations in the manufacturing of Universal Paints.

LMP: And the youngest brother?

ACY: Our youngest is a girl, Christine, she is based in California. She finished Management Economics at the Ateneo de Manila University.

LMP: How about you, where did you have your early education?

ACY: In my case, I studied at Xavier for my primary and secondary education, and went to Ateneo for my Juris degree in Law (1987-1991). I was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1992.

LMP: After graduation from college, what was the first affiliation you had?

ACY: While studying, I was already affiliated with the Balani-Barican-Cruz-Alampay Law Office. Professor Balani who taught me Succession Law is a teacher at UP College of Law. He was the one who recruited me to join them. I worked there for about two years. After I was admitted to the Philippine Bar, Fr. Bernas, a noted constitutionalist and very close to the Jesuit Fathers, called me and said, “Justice Adolf Azcuna is resigning from the Supreme Court. He is putting up a Law Office with Haydee Yorac, and they need associates. I am recommending you to join them.” That was an opportunity, so, I accepted it and I became part of the Azcuna-Yorac-Sarmiento-Arroyo-Cua Law Office.

LMP: Big names in the national scene.

ACY: Adolf Azcuna and Felisitas Arroyo, the wife of Senator Joker Arroyo, were both Constitutional Commissioners. Haydee Yorac was a noted professor and practitioner. She also joined the government. Atty. Sarmiento is the son of former Justice Abraham Sarmiento. A Valedictorian of his class at UP. And, Atty. William Cua is one of the founders of FLAG (Free Legal Assistance Group).

LMP: You were in good company. It was an opportunity nobody should miss.

ACY: I was really in a very good company and I learned a lot from all of them. Until now, I still feel grateful to be accorded the privilege of working with great minds.

LMP: So, you found your world?

ACY: Yes, but I needed to move on. I got out from the law firm, and helped my father for a few years.

LMP: Your father’s business is very lucrative. You don’t need to search for employment elsewhere. In fact, you don’t even need to work at all... with the comfort you have, you don’t have to lift a finger to enjoy material life.

ACY: Maybe, but there’s this inner and deeper urge in me to be on my own, make my own decisions... could be the blood I inherited from my ancestors. There’s this motivation in me to go on exploring, go on finding means to a more meaningful life. Until I realized the bigger need to be of service to others.

LMP: So, what did you do?

ACY: I founded the Ejercito-Yap-Butchong Law Office in the late 1990s.

LMP: When was the time you became interested in politics?

ACY: Politics for me has always been interesting because I was a student leader. In high school and in college, I was in the Student Government. I was in EDSA during the uprising, to a way, I was an activist. That’s why I really believe that politics is developed early on people as an interest, a hobby, and later as a career. It is rare that you just pick up politics. In my case, there is always that interest in politics.

LMP: How come you’re associated with the Arroyos?

ACY: The former President was my Economics teacher. When she became President, she asked me what I am doing, and I told her, I am practicing law. Then she said, “I am the President now, you have to help the government and me.” I replied, “It is up to you Ma’am. You’re the President.” I thought she was just saying that to be polite. Then, one of her aides got my telephone number and within two weeks, I was being interviewed. She asked me to come to Malacañang, and then we talked. I told her, “Ma’am I thought you were just kidding me. She said, “No, we really need to bring in a lot of younger people into the government. It would be a waste if I did not ask my students to come in.” In the end, she really brought in a lot of her students like, former Energy Secretary Vicente Perez, my predecessor at the National Food Authority, Atty. Tony Abad, and a lot more.

LMP: When you joined her, was that direct to the Department of Agriculture?

ACY: I went to the Department of Trade first, as Undersecretary. They gave me the portfolio of the Chief Executive of the Philippine International Trading Corporation. PITC was the sole government corporation in-charge with counter-trade. They needed that to do parallel importation of high-priced medicines. We had a situation where the same medicine was being sold here 20 times more expensive than in the other parts of the world. So, we wanted to break that. Those without protective patents anymore, we started bringing them in. From there, the former President brought me to the National Food Authority because it still has a lot to do with the business and economics of rice. I stayed there for two years as NFA Administrator. When Cito Lorenzo left, I was asked to take over the agricultural portfolio in 2004 until 2005. Then, I came back in 2006 until in 2010.

LMP: Before that, there was some rumor that you would be running for senator.

ACY: Yes, but I opted to ran as Congressman. Well, it’s not a question of one’s desire, I guess. To become senator, there are so many things that matter: right time, right endorsement, right packaging, especially into this media savvy world. You have to be very good at your packaging and projection for people to understand and accept you.

LMP: Can you tell us about your wife?

ACY: My wife is Carolyne Varquez-Gow. It is my mother-in-law who is the Lobocanon. My wife finished a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce at De La Salle University. We have two kids. Alexandra (15), is studying at ICA, and Austin (13) is at Xavier.

LMP: Hopefully, they will also join politics or business?

ACY: The decision to enter politics is a personal one. If they ask for my advice, I will give my opinion. But neither will I encourage it because the choice to serve is so personal. It’s a rough and tumble world, so you don’t wish it upon people. They must want it. Talking with Congressman Arthur Yap was a unique experience of being with a man who earned the distinction of being loved by his constituents in so short a time, because he was the one who personally went to all of the Barangays of the Third District of Bohol in order to talk with them heart-to-heart to learn of their needs and how he could be of help. That the act entails a lot of sacrifice on his part only to attest that he is a genuine public servant who forgets his own interest for the welfare of others.

No wonder, even the Municipal Mayor are for him, disregarding party affiliations. His second and third term as Congressional Representative is a must, if only to prove that politicians with a heart of gold are still around. He is a rare axis in the realm of public service, not only for his dedication and commitment to his tasks. What sets him apart from the rest of his colleagues in Congress who content themselves with lip service, Art Yap “walks the talk.”

(Website: www.loypalapos.com; email: loy.pal@gmail.com; cellphone: 09498345957)