A CIVIL complaint was filed against actor and Cebu City north district congressional aspirant Richard Yap by a 24-year-old man claiming to be his biological son.
Complainant Joshua Paolo Jensen filed the case against Yap before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021.
A native of Cavite, southern Luzon, Jensen was accompanied by Cebuano lawyers Mamerto Avila and John Gador when he filed the petition for compulsory recognition against Yap.
“Mga 12 years old nakita ko po siya sa Chowking commercial. Sabi ng mama ko yan ang tatay mo. Nagulat ako, pinuntahan ko din siya sa ABS-CBN pero hindi siya nagpakita. Nagtatago po siya. Laging out of town po (I was around 12 years old when I saw him in a Chowking commercial. My mom said that is your dad. I was surprised. I went to see him in ABS-CBN, but he did not show himself. He hid and I was often told that he was out of town),” claimed Jensen.
Jensen added that his mother and Yap last saw each other when she was still pregnant with him and she had an ultrasound done.
“Pag nakikita ko na namimigay siya ng bigas sa mga tao, tumutulong siya, masaya ako na ginawa niya yan, pero masakit din dahil ako iniwan niya at pinabayaan (When I see him giving rice to people and helping, I feel happy that he does that, but it also pains me because he left and abandoned me),” added Jensen.
“Richard Yap, I hope you acknowledge me as your child. I’ve long been running after you until I reached Cebu. My mother’s life was ruined because you left her and her child. That’s me. How can your aim to serve Cebuanos be real when you can’t even stand up for your own child? I’m all grown up now. Let’s face each other and have a DNA test done,” said Jensen in Tagalog.
Political propaganda
Interviewed by SunStar, Yap expressed surprise over Jensen’s claims.
Yap said he believes this to be politically motivated and alluded to Councilor Nińa Mabatid who is also seeking a congressional post in Cebu City’s north district as the person who “planned (this) from the start.”
“I have never seen him, met him, talked to him ever since. Ambot lang asa na niya gikuha nga ako iyang amahan (I don’t know where he got that from, that I am his dad),” said Yap.
“I am very sure of that because there is one councilor, a woman who is also running for Congress. She went live and claimed that I have a child that worked for her and who is filing a case. So this has all been planned from the start. Just watch her live,” Yap said in a mix of Cebuano and English.
Meanwhile, Mabatid challenged Yap to have a DNA test done to prove that Jensen is not his son.
Mabatid said she will withdraw from her candidacy if the test will show that Yap isn’t Jensen’s father.
“Richard Yap, don’t point fingers at anyone. You abandoned your very own child and it’s my fault? Face the case and submit yourself for DNA testing wa nay daghan storya (stop the talk). Do it before November 15, I challenge you. If the result is negative, then I’ll step down as the official candidate for Congress of Barug PDP Laban. Imoha na ng Congress (You can have Congress),” said Mabatid.