Governor Art Yap on Wednesday clarified that he has not tested positive for COVID-19 in an apparent response to a Facebook post of his staunch critic.

Yap called claims that he had contracted the disease “fake news,” noting that he has been in the office in the past two working days.

“Natinga ko na nakadawat ko og pangutana gahapon na ingon nila na ‘sir tinuod ban a na-COVID ka,’ but I said, kaluoy sa Ginoo, we are protected by the Lord Almighty, so okay naman ta,” said Yap in a government-paid program over station dyRD.

Although Yap did not mention who alleged that he was infected, his denial was an apparent reference to a post of Makati-based businessman Willy Ramasola, a known critic of the governor.

Ramasola however also did not mention Yap in his post as he only alleged that a governor in the Visayas reportedly tested positive for the disease but did not undergo quarantine.

“Naay Gobernador somewhere in the Visayas na COVID positive daw pero ga sige gihapon ug suroy? Hadloka naman na siya,” Ramasola said in a statement posted on Monday.

There are a total of 16 governors in the Visayas.

A day after Ramasola’s post, Yap issued a statement that he tested negative for COVID-19 on Saturday last week.

Had Yap tested positive for COVID-19, President Rodrigo Duterte and several top government officials could have been considered as his first-generation contacts.

On September 8, 2021, Yap was in Pampanga to attend the national convention of the PDP-Laban’s Cusi faction which was attended by the president and other ranking members of the ruling party.

Yap was seen directly interacting with Duterte during the event.

The governor has since returned to Bohol and has been seen attending various activities of the provincial government.

All persons entering Bohol are required to submit a negative RT-PCR test result. (A. Doydora)