Reconciliation

IF the Yanson family feud over their transport business is resolved within the family, well and good.

It’s not just for the good of matriarch Olivia V. Yanson and her kids Roy, Celina, Emily, Ricardo Jr., and Leo Rey, but also for the riding public.

After more than a month of tug-of-war over control of Vallacar Transit Inc., Roy asked for peace with younger brother Leo Rey.

Celina, Emily, and Ricardo Jr., who are with Roy in this prolonged feud, also chimed in, but not before acknowledging that the cases now pending in the courts will have to proceed.

Leo Rey also voiced out his agreement to settling their feud within their family provided they all apologize to their patrons.

Indeed, forgiveness will and should be the foundation of reconciliation. From there, they can move forward.

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While we hope and pray that the Yansons will set aside their disputes and smoke the peace pipe for good, we cannot help but point the ugliness of monopoly, especially in public utilities like transport.

For a day, Ceres buses stopped ferrying passengers in Bacolod and Negros Occidental as the Yanson siblings jockeyed for control of their lucrative bus liner business. As we all know, Ceres bus liner has almost total control of the land transport in Negros Island and even the rest of Visayas and Mindanao.

The stoppage of bus trips, no matter how short, is enough to disrupt the daily lives of passengers and even the local economy. While we cannot blame the Yansons for trying to grow their business, monopolizing the transport sector has its dark prospects, especially if the dominant player is saddled with or paralyzed by infighting.

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The Commission on Audit again (the audit agency has been rehashing this matter in previous reports) called out the Iloilo provincial government for doling out P12.15 million to 13 unaccredited cooperatives in 2018.

We have nothing against dole outs to cooperatives and other entities that aim to uplift the lives of their members. What we cannot stomach is releasing money to groups of dubious reputation or track records, because doing so will expose people’s money to misuse or even thievery. Mind you, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

And COA already hinted at possible misuse of Capitol funds when the recipient cooperatives used the money for their micro-financing ventures or pa-utang.

Sec. 35 of the Local Government Code allows financial assistance to non-government organization or cooperatives provided they engage in the delivery of certain basic services, capability-building and livelihood projects.

The group should also develop local enterprises designed to improve productivity and income, diversify agriculture, spur rural industrialization, promote ecological balance and enhance the economic and social well-being of the people.

Clearly, pa-utang is not a form of basic service or improves the capabilities of a community.

By the way, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas is now facing a graft case, and was even preventively suspended, for releasing P500,000 from the pork barrel allocation of then Senator Loren Legarda to the Iloilo Press Club.

The Office of the Ombudsman filed the case because the IPC was not accredited by the city government, thus it is not entitled to receiving and using public funds.

Of course, Mayor Treñas denied the charge, saying that the special allotment release order pertaining to the project specifically identified the city government as the implementing agency and the IPC as the beneficiary.