‘Mom owns, VTI, Ceres Bus’

By: Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI) president and CEO Leo Rey Yanson said that “legally and morally, their mother Olivia Villaflores Yanson owns VTI which operates Ceres Bus Liner.

Leo Rey issued the statement amid questions raised that he and his sibling Ginette and their mother Olivia are minority shareholders compared to his other siblings Roy, Celina, Emily, and Ricardo Jr.

The camp of Emily, Celina and Ricardo Jr. earlier questioned how Leo Rey’s group can call for a board meeting last Aug 19 when they only hold 38 percent of VTI stocks.

Leo Rey, together with his sister Ginette and her husband Charles and their mother Olivia, held the meeting to reorganize the board.

Leo Rey was retained as president and CEO, Charles Dumancas as Vice President and Olivia as corporate secretary.

Roy, on the other hand, seemed to have distance himself from Celina, Emily, and Ricardo Jr. when he called for peace and amicable settlement of their feud.

Roy also acted and issued press statements on his own, which was very different in the early part of the feud when they ganged up on Leo Rey and Olivia for control of the family’s multibillion peso bus company.

Olivia and husband Ricardo B. Yanson Sr. built the VTI empire from scratch in the late 60s.

“In hindsight, Vallacar Transit, Inc. (VTI) was started and honed to what it is now by our parents as a conjugal venture. The Yanson Four are ingrates to claim that Olivia V. Yanson (OVY) no longer owns VTI, they are wrong! Given this, it is but fitting and proper that OVY be accorded respect and control over what she built over the years. Only insatiable greed and plain opportunism could have impelled them to disrespect OVY and claim falsities against her, simply because OVY is advancing in age, and RBY is no longer around,” Leo Rey said.

He urged his siblings to “allow her to enjoy the fruits of her hard-earned labor. “

Leo Rey added that he could not fully comprehend how Emily failed to note the fact that she was not a legitimate possessor/owner of any shares of stock of VTI.

“It’s either she doesn’t know that she is not a stockholder of VTI, or she is just playing blind. Contrary to the assertions of Emily, a quorum was present, thus, there was basis to proceed with the special stockholders’ meeting,” he said.

“Honestly, I don’t know, what is the basis of the Yanson Four in claiming that there is no quorum. For our end, in our possession are the real corporate documents consisting of the VTI Stock and Transfer Book, Stock Certificates, among others. A simple mathematical computation was enough to determine quorum and to proceed with the order of business. There was no way for us to be wrong!” he further said.

“Anent the authority to call for a meeting, I maintain that I was never legally ousted as President. Between the August 19, 2019 meeting and that of the July 7, 2019 directors’ meeting conducted by the Yanson Four, the former must prevail,” Leo Rey adds.

Despite the unending word and legal wars, Leo Rey said they are still hopeful that Emily, Celina and Ricardo Jr. “will join the call of my elder brother Roy in the latter’s plea for unity, reconciliation and healing.”

“To my siblings in the other camp, if you really love our mother, please be sincere in your actions. OVY eagerly awaits all of you. Do it now please, while she is still with us,” he pleaded.