SC OKs Bohol lawmaker’s foreign trips

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has granted the petition of Bohol third district Rep. Arthur Yap to travel abroad to attend a program on solid waste management and spend time with his family before he assumes his new position as Bohol governor.

In a four-page notice, the SC’s First Division said Yap could travel to Belgium and the Netherlands from June 6 to 16 and Japan and South Korea from June 22 to 28.

Yap said he would be in the Netherlands from June 10 to 11 for the solid waste management program. He said he would also go on a tour with his family in Belgium and the Netherlands, a cruise to Japan and trip to South Korea. 

The SC’s First Division asked Yap to post a travel bond of P100,000, designate someone with authority to act on his behalf during his trip and give a written notice of his arrival within 24 hours. 

Yap is facing two counts of graft before the Sandiganbayan over the grant of loans to 10 employees of the Philippine Rice Research Institute by the Philippine National Bank amounting to P15.7 million for the purchase of rent-to-own cars when he was secretary of the Department of Agriculture.