Boholanos deserve “better news”. This was Gov. Arthur Yap’s statement in response to the question thrown to him regarding his comments to an article published by the Bohol Chronicle on Dec. 5, 2021, containing his alleged text message exchange with the media entity’s associate editor.
In his reply to the inquiry during the weekly press conference on Dec. 10, 2021, Yap said, “All I can say to Mr. Dejaresco is Merry Christmas. Pasko na. If you have a problem with me, let us spare the public from it. Wala man silay labot ani. Sa akong kabahin, ako na lang ihatag sa piskalya ang kahigayonan nga moresolba sa akong sumbong batok nimu. Boholanos deserve better news than you besmirching my person. Daghan na ang gikapoy sa pagpaminaw sa inyong kada adlaw nga banat batok nako ug sa kagamhanang probinsyal.”
The governor added, “Daghan ang mas angayan nga hisgutan karong panahona. Sama sa pagpahiluna sa atong ekonomiya, pagpabalik sa trabaho ug oportunidad sa katawhan. Daghang mas importanteng hisgutanan kay sa imung mga personal nga kasakit batok kanako.”
He asserts, “Mao nga karong panahon sa Pasko, manghinaut ko nga magmalipayon ang imung pagsaulog niini. I pray for good health and peace of mind for you and for your family. And so, my appeal, please in the spirit of Christmas, let us spare the public.”
BACKGROUND
The article’s title is: “Guv’s text to BC [Bohol Chronicle] editor hints at suppressing truth”.
The article asserted that the governor believed that while the newspaper has adhered to the truth, the media entity “started to veer that path [of the truth] by allegedly showing partiality in its coverage of his [Yap’s] administration”.
The governor, in a media conference on Dec. 3, 2021, said that the Bohol Chronicle is no longer what it used to be and started to peddle “lies” through the media entity’s platforms, prompting Yap to file an inciting to sedition case against Dejaresco, former Tagbilaran City mayor Dan Neri Lim, and the governor’s staunch critic Emmanuel “Willy” Ramasola.
In response, Dejaresco said that Yap changed his mind about Bohol Chronicle Radio Corporation (BCRC) when the latter found out that the media entity “would not be subservient to his [Yap’s] administration and would not hide the truth if it appears to negatively impact the governor.”
The newspaper reported that It first drew the ire of Yap after the media entity reported about the governor’s 90-day suspension implemented by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Dejaresco also said that he received a text message from the governor calling out the former about the reportage on the suspension issue.