Roy Yanson, president of Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI), parent company of the Ceres bus liner, recently released an open letter in response to his mother, Yanson family matriarch Olivia Yanson.
In the correspondence, he discussed a “family constitution,” which he claims was signed 10 years ago and barred the public airing of family disputes, along with lawsuits between family members.
“You agreed and signed a family constitution, which we all agreed to be the document that will guide all our actions,” he explained. “That family constitution forbade us [from] discussing our differences in public and to avoid legal suits.”
The VTI chief then defended his earlier decision to seek legal action against his brother, ousted company president Leo Rey Yanson, as a response to the latter’s request for a temporary restraining order.
“We [were] just responding to this legal suit because of Leo Rey’s prodding—he was the first one to question the legitimacy of the board’s decision; a decision he, himself, recognizes as legal and binding to all parties,” he stated.
Yanson also asked his mother to have his brother withdraw his claims, noting, if he does, “We will reciprocate.”
“Recognize the authority of the board and the law, as we continually do,” the VTI president added. “By staying as a member of the board, Leo Rey is, in effect, recognizing the powers and authority of the board.”
Last week, the family matriarch issued a written statement telling her four children Roy, Emily, Ricardo, Jr., and Celina to “show some decency.”
She went on to characterize their actions as “shameful” and “leaving a bad taste in the mouth;” along with noting, as their mother, an act of “defiance” and “disrespect.”
“I and my late husband, Ricardo, Sr., painstakingly labored so hard to put up our business; to make it successful,” the elder Yanson stated. “Today, my four children simply want to kick me off to one dark corner and maltreat me.”
Most recently, the family clashed at the Dumaguete City Bus Terminal, where local officials arrested members of the newly-hired security firm on trespassing charges. The security personnel were later released./WDJ