Scene during the funeral Mass of Lapu-Lapu City Councilor Nelson Yap at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish in Barangay Marigondon Saturday, January 7, 2023. /MKG
The 67-year-old legislator and lawyer was buried at the Mactan Island Memorial Garden after a funeral mass at Our Lady of Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish in Barangay Marigondon, which was attended by city officials, including Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan, as well as Lapu-Lapu City Lone District Rep. Ma. Cynthia Chan.
According to Yap’s wife, Mandaue City Prosecutor Anna Marie Yap, the late councilor had experienced a series of infarctions (minor heart attacks) until he succumbed to his disease.
City Councilor Emilio Galaroza, for his part, said his colleague had myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease and diabetic nephropathy, which causes chronic kidney disease and is secondary to diabetes.
Yap was a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Biology before he became a lawyer.
Mayor Chan told SunStar Cebu he will meet with members of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in the city after the burial to pick Yap’s replacement.
City Councilor Annabeth Cuizon said this is to show respect to Yap.
Lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano, Central Visayas acting regional director of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), said the replacement must be a relative of the deceased.
Meanwhile, Cuizon said Yap served Lapu-Lapu City residents with integrity and compassion.
“Surely, the Oponganons will miss him. With his passing, we have lost a man of honor,” she said.
Yap served as a public servant for six terms. He started his first three terms in the council in 1998 and then returned in 2016.
The Lapu-Lapu City Council approved during its regular session on Wednesday, January 4, the resolution authored by Cuizon, extending the City Government’s most profound gratitude and salutation to the late city councilor for the outstanding services that he had rendered to the city.
Yap served as chairman of different committees during his service, including committee on laws and good governance and administrative matters; games and amusement; barangay infrastructure; energy and power; public works, urban planning and housing; human resources and development; and labor and employment, among others. (MKG)
