P380-M MYSTERY: Celina Yanson asks mom to tell truth about missing funds

By: Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – Celina Yanson-Lopez, one of the siblings belonging to the “Yanson 4” camp urged her mother Olivia Villaflor Yanson on Aug 29, 2019 to tell the truth behind the P380 million allegedly missing from the coffers of Vallacar Transit Inc (VTI).

Celina, the chief finance officer of VTI until their family squabble erupted in July 2019, also reaffirmed her commitment towards reconciliation in the family provided certain questions are answered.

In a statement, Celina said she was deeply hurt by Olivia’s allegations that she (Celina) squandered VTI funds when everyone knows who was responsible for alleged unliquidated funds.

Without publicly mentioning the names of those involved, she revealed for the first time why her mother got angry in 2018 that precipitated in the break between the Yanson’s majority bloc and her mother taking the cudgels for Leo Rey and Ginnete.

“This thing broke out because of my mother’s kind heart, pakikisama and the tendency to play favorites. My mother got mad at me, together with the three of us, Ricky, Roy and Emily, because we wanted the guy responsible for these illicit withdrawals from the Manila Purchasing Office (MPO) to be criminally charged and sent to jail,” she said.

She also said they wanted justice as their mother preferred her own way—since she treated this guy as a family member having served them for many years.

“When we discovered that this person was the one who orchestrated this big mess in cahoots with another, a lady cashier, the board wanted their heads. My mother intervened and out of pity, even wanted to pay for those funds which this guy allegedly took,” Celina said.

She also claimed that instead of castigating the man who reportedly served VTI for more than two decades, Olivia reportedly covered for his misdeeds and instead blamed her four children, particularly Celina, for the mess.

The press statement from Celina’s group said that a check with the auditing and accounting process within VTI revealed that the missing funds were reportedly withdrawn from the Manila Purchasing Office (MPO) checking account.

The former official responsible for this and the only one authorized to sign checks, reportedly left signed blank checks with their Manila-based cashier, Rowena Sarona.

Sarona is now facing a case before the courts in Quezon City after pieces of evidence show that she was the one who allegedly encashed those checks amounting to over P380 million.

“It is unfair to blame me for the missing funds. I am not the signatory of the MPO account. And the man responsible for the missing funds is not even being questioned! He is being protected by my mother. He is a free man and is often seen in the company of my mother. The blame is being passed on to me and I am being tried by public opinion despite evidence that show otherwise,” she added.

The feud among the Yanson sibling has been going on for close to two months now.

It started when Roy the eldest together with Celina, Emily and Ricardo Jr. staged a coup and unseat their brother Leo Rey as president and CEO.

They also took over the Ceres southbound terminal and the VTI main office in Mansilingan.

The southbound terminal and the Mansilingan office were regained by Leo Rey through a SOSIA order.

Leo Rey together with their mother Olivia and sister Ginnette then called for a stockholders’ meeting and reorganized the board last Aug 19, 2019 where he retained the presidency with Charles Dumancas, husband of Ginnette as VP, Ginnette as treasurer and Olivia as corporate secretary.