27/06/2026
The primary reason critics are trying to blame former Governor Arthur Yap is political narrative spin rooted in local partisan rivalries.
Even though NIA engineers legally confirmed that the crumbling lateral canals are pre-existing, decade-old structures [boholislandnews.com], political actors target Yap because of specific tactical advantages:
1. The 2017 Photo Op is Easy Propaganda
Because Yap led the ceremonial groundbreaking and buried the time capsule in 2017, his face is prominently tied to the project’s earliest origin [region7.nia.gov.ph]. For local political opponents, it is incredibly easy to take a screenshot from that 2017 event, splice it next to a viral 2026 video of a broken canal, and create a misleading social media post. It relies on public laziness to look up the actual timeline.
2. Deep-Seated Political RivalryBohol politics has seen an intense, long-standing rivalry between the Yap camp and the Aumentado camp. Aumentado unseated Yap in a highly contentious 2022 gubernatorial election. Pointing fingers at Yap allows political operators to continually validate the current administration while keeping the former governor’s reputation suppressed.
3. Creating a Political Shield for the Real Contractors
By turning a standard engineering malfunction into a political shouting match against a another politician, the actual private contractors, project inspectors, and modern NIA engineers who failed to properly evaluate the integration of the old pipes get shielded from public scrutiny. It shifts anger away from current project oversight and channels it into old, partisan tribalism.
Blaming Yap is a classic distraction tactic used to convert a practical infrastructure maintenance issue into a political weapon.
