Yap was born on November 10, 1965, in Manila.[3] He is the eldest among the three children of Domingo Yap and Natividad Cua. His father was born in Jolo, Sulu and is of Chinese-Tausug descent while his mother, also with Chinese ancestry, was from Dagupan, Pangasinan.[4]
While studying, Yap was recruited by a professor to join the Balane, Barican, Cruz, Alampay Law Office. He worked there for about two years. After being admitted to the bar, he was recommended by Fr. Joaquin Bernas to join the law office of former Associate JusticeAdolfo Azcuna. Because of that, he became an associate lawyer of the Azcuna, Yorac, Sarmiento, Arroyo, Cua Law Office.[4]
In the late 1990s, Yap co-founded a law office with Paulino Ejercito and Karlo Butiong.[4][5] The latter served as the external corporate counsel for DHY Realty and Development Inc., a family-owned corporation in which Yap and his father held the positions of vice president and president, respectively. This company became the subject of a tax evasion complaint filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, alleging actions dating back to 1997. However, this complaint was subsequently dismissed by the Department of Justice in October 2005.[6]
Yap first entered government service in August 2001 as president and CEO of the Philippine International Trading Corporation under the Department of Trade and Industry. Thereafter, he served as the administrator of the National Food Authority for two years and as Agriculture Undersecretary for Luzon Operations, after which was a brief stint as the Secretary of Agriculture. He was one of the youngest to be appointed to the Cabinet of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He was also designated as the Development Champion for the North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle (NLAQ). He then left the post in July 2005 to give way to Domingo Panganiban.
In December 2005, he became Presidential Adviser for Job Creation. He then became the 15th Director General of the Presidential Management Staff, the fifth post he had been designated to in the Arroyo administration. He was appointed again as Agriculture Secretary in October 2006, serving until his resignation in February 2010 to run as a member of the House of Representatives.
From 2010 to 2019, Yap was a congressman representing the third district of Bohol. While there, he held various positions such as being assistant minority leader of the Committee on Rules,[7] vice-chairman of the Committees on Globalization And WTO,[8] Government Enterprises And Privatization,[8] and Ecology,[9] chairman of the Committees on Reforestation[8] and Economic Affairs,[9] and being the deputy speaker from 2018 to 2019.[10]
Yap is married to Carolyne Varquez-Gow, a native of Loboc, Bohol. Together they have 2 children.[4] He speaks Tagalog, English and Cebuano (both Standard and Boholano dialect).[16]
^"總統杜特地簽署"簡易營商"新法令 商總黃年榮蔡聰妙林育慶應邀見證儀式" [President Duterte signs "ease of business" decree; President Huang Nianrong, Tsai Tsung-Miu, and Lin Yuqing invited to witness ceremony]. Chinese Commercial News (in Chinese). June 1, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
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