MANILA, Philippines — The Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation announced today the passing of its Chairman of the Board Dr. Emilio T. Yap, on Monday, April 7, 2014. He would have been 89 years old on September 24 this year.
Funeral services will be held at a time and place to be announced later.
In addition to his being a respected leader in the print media industry, Dr. Yap served as Chairman of the Board of the Manila Hotel Corporation and of Centro Escolar University, and Chairman Emeritus of Philippine Trust Company.
Chairman Yap led numerous humanitarian activities in the Philippines and around the world. As a symbol of his concern for newspapermen and newspaperwomen, he constructed a Medical Center Building at the National Press Club of the Philippines. In 2000, when he reached the age of 75, he dispensed with the celebration of his birth anniversary and began the annual tradition of donating to various charitable causes.
The donations went to the Mindanao Peace and Development Program and the Pangasinan and Pampanga flood victims in 2000; the American Red Cross, the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund, the New York State World Trade Center Relief Fund, United Way, Salvation Army, and the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC, to help victims of the World T rade Center and the Pentagon attacks, in 2001; the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Sagip Kalinga and the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center in 2002; the Social Security System Retirement Benefits through the Office of the President of the Philippines in 2003; the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Provident Trust Fund and the Philippine National Police (PNP) Karangalan ng mga Alagad ng Batas Foundation in 2004; Caritas Manila in 2006; the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and the Federation of Women’s Clubs Foundation in 2007; the PRC, DSWD, and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in 2008; PRC,, DSWD, and CBCP in 2009; PRC, DSWD, and CBCP, Caritas Manila, and the City of Manila in 2010; PRC, DSWD, CBCP, Caritas Manila, and City of Manila again in 2011; DSWD in 2012; PRC and various other charitable organizations in 2013.
Dr. Yap was widely honored and recognized for his professional and charitable contributions and received over 400 awards and citations from the government, professional, and civic organizations. He was conferred 23 honorary doctoral degrees from universities in the Philippines and abroad. (From a Manila Bulletin update)
