THE HONORABLE Eric Go Yap, party–list representative for ACT-CIS, was among the principal authors of the House bill that sought to expunge the martyred senator of the Republic, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., from the name of the Philippines’ premier international gateway.
Incidentally, a petition before the Supreme Court toward the same end – of renaming the Ninoy Aquino International Airport – filed by the bobo-babbling Atty. Larry Gadon was junked for “lack of merit” only last week.
About the same time that came out in the internet a picture of the inauguration of the Benguet General Hospital’s molecular biology laboratory at the prominently and proudly named “Eric Yap Building.”
Insofar as the guidelines of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, Yap is wrong in both antics.
Naming Manila’s international airport after Aquino fully subscribes to: “No public place should be named or renamed after a person within ten (10) years of his death except for highly exceptional reasons (e.g. his death was due to assassination in the service of the country, he/she gave exceptional service to the nation, death while trying to save others, death was a result of his patriotism, and death while in performance of one’s duty).”
Not to mention Republic Act No. 6639: An Act Renaming the Manila International Airport as the Ninoy Aquino International Airport signed on Dec. 10, 1987.
On the other hand, the naming of a government building after Yap is a direct contravention of the NHCP guidelines, to wit:
“No local governments, institutions, places or buildings shall be named after a living person.”
“In the naming of public places after people, the use of the word ‘memorial’ should be deleted as it is already understood that the person being honoured is already deceased.”
No, we don’t wish Yap to be instantly memorialized just to justify or legalize into existence the Eric Yap Building.
Yes, we wish Yap’s bloated ego be cut to his diminutive size.
