CARCAR FAMILIES: A Genealogy Blog for Carcar

Manuel Tapia Yap

(31-Aug-1931 – 22-Sep-2011)

Son of Porfirio Castillo Yap of Cebu City and Carcar and Mercedes Gerasta Tapia of San Fernando

Given to mischiefs growing up; a Cebu fiscal related that he was witness to a fistfight between MTY, although small in stature and still in high school, and one of the fiscal’s barkada when they were visiting Carcar, they already as college students and their friend a known toughie. MTY clobbered his opponent who later asked his barkadas not to mention the incident back in Cebu City; graduated high school valedictorian, Carcar Academy, 1949; finished law at the Lyceum of the Philippines and passed the bar same year (1956).

When their mother died more than 20 years later, the gathered family was looking at their diplomas hanging on one wall in their Carcar home when asked by his siblings why he had transferred to Lyceum when he’d started at UP and they had UP diplomas. “Now I can tell you. Do you know the persons whose signatures are on your diplomas?” “Yes, our president then was Bienvenido Gonzalez.” “Who was he compared to the signatures on my diploma? Look.” They looked and president of Lyceum was Jose B. Laurel, dean was Claro M. Recto. “They were the reasons I transferred.” Question answered.

Starting with one taxi, he built a taxicab group which at its peak had more than 200, and was secretary of the taxi operators association in Manila (ATOM). With a latent love of cockfighting, developed a stable, which he named Spitfire, and, in 1970, traveled to the U.S. to meet fighting cock breeders there; won the 1970 international derby at the Araneta Coliseum the first time it was upgraded to 8-cocks, winning all 8, capturing the derby solo; the following year, with his trainer having left him for greener pastures, managed his stable directly and still won the 1971 edition, this time sharing the prize with one other winner, thus making him the most well-known cockfight aficionado out of Carcar.

Married to Teresa Bartolome Valenzuela of Sta. Cruz, Laguna, with 6 children.