Yanson mom says daughter diverting issue on missing funds

By: Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – Olivia Yanson, matriarch of the Yanson clan that owns Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI), parent company of Ceres Bus Liner, accused her daughter, Celina Yanson-Lopez of diverting the issue over the missing P380-million funds of the company.

In an earlier statement, Celina asked her mother to tell the truth about the alleged P380 million that went missing from VTI coffers.

In an email dated Sept 2, 2019, Olivia said the main subject is the independent third-party audit report by SGV indicating that Celina has yet to account for the P380-million advances/liabilities to the company.

Olivia said Celina has not rebutted the SGV report.

“When this anomaly happened, [Celina] did not even call for a meeting and let her staff explain in writing why they kept on transferring funds several times for the same transaction,” she said.

Olivia said since Celina is the Chief Finance Officer of the company, it is her duty to properly liquidate monies she sends to the branches.

She further claimed that after finding out the anomaly, Celina did not bother to explain why her department is funding some transactions.

She pointed out that when the SGV was conducting the audit, Celina allegedly instructed the accounting department not to cooperate and participate.

“[She] even instructed the internal auditors to alter the audit report. If she is referring to the case in our Manila Branch which is being portrayed to be the pet of [Olivia Yanson], the amount being referred to was only P28 million.  How about the rest of the P352 million?  Where did this go?” the elder Yanson said.

She added that the alleged qualified theft Celina belatedly filed against an employee of the company is “self-serving and is a mere afterthought that has no factual foundation from a third-party independent auditor.”

Last week, Celina called on her mother to “tell the unvarnished truth” about the funds.

Celina claimed everyone knows who was responsible for these alleged unliquidated funds.

She pointed out, the matter originated last year, which she believes “precipitated the break between the ‘Yanson majority’ and her mother.”

“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 explained.

“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.”