Bacolod transport firm’s ousted president accused of unauthorized fund withdrawals

BACOLOD CITY – The chief financial officer of Vallacar Transit Corporation (VTC) has accused its former president of making several fund withdrawals without the approval of the management.

Celina Yanson-Lopez, the chief financial officer of VTC, said the act of Leo Rey Yanson, the former Vallacar Transit president, endangered the financial stability of the company as this jeopardized the company’s most valued asset—its employees.

A company memorandum, she said, mandates that fund withdrawals require the approval of the board of directors, a requirement which Leo Rey allegedly did not comply with.

Fund withdrawals

Yanson-Lopez said the management discovered Leo Rey’s withdrawals only from the period from June 1 to June 17 of this year.

“There is a possibility that the former company president had been doing the unauthorized withdrawals even before,” she said in a press release.

“Leo Rey was removed as president of the company for violating company rules on illegal withdrawal of funds that in turn affects the welfare of our employees. The management had investigated the matter and he was asked to explain. Unfortunately, he could not reasonably justify why he disbursed the missing funds without prior board approvals, then we needed to take action for the company and for its employees.

Family feud

The battle of the Bacolod-based Yanson siblings for control of the family’s multi-billion peso transportation empire escalated on Sunday.

In separate press statements, the board of directors of Vallacar Transit Inc., Bachelor Express Inc., Rural Transit Mindanao Inc., Sugbo Transit Express Inc., and Mindanao Star Business Transit Inc. Sunday announced the appointment of Roy Yanson as the new president of the five companies, replacing younger brother Leo Rey.

Roy’s takeover was a result of a special board meeting, said his lawyer Sheila Sison.

The board also replaced the corporate officers to ensure a seamless transition of the transport firm’s administration.

‘Illegal actions’

In a separate press statement, Leo Rey said he could not accept the “illegal actions” of his siblings Roy, Emily and Ricardo Yanson, and Ma. Lourdes Celina Lopez.

The actions of his four siblings, he said, did not comply with the requirements of the Corporation Code and/or the By-Laws of VTI.

“The removal was only done through a special meeting of which the election/removal of the president was not even included in the agenda,” Leo Rey said.

He said Memorandum 201612-21 dated Dec. 21, 2017 affirms the inherent powers of the office of the president to allow miscellaneous transactions.

Leo Rey said he was also only exercising a power exercised since their father was president.

Out of the P11.8 million, only P8.5 million was charged to the miscellaneous expense, he said, adding that the amount was used for the improvement of the morale and well being of their employees.

“Our people made this company what it is today. On its face, P8.5 million may seem like a substantial amount, but it is nowhere near the income we have earned from the hard work of our people. It is only right that we return to them as much as we can,” he said.

Company growth

As to P3.3 million, he said the amount was charged to his account and that of their mother, Olivia.

Leo Rey pointed out that under his watch as president, the Yanson group of bus companies have grown by an exponential 300 percent by conservative estimates.

“All businesses have risks, and while you sit down in your office counting our hard-earned money, I, on the other hand, motivate employees, move resources, exert all possible efforts to beat last year’s performance, take constant risks in my decision making, thus absorbing all the blame in running the day-to-day operations of this company. I have been over a decade into my term, and our company’s growth can attest to the simple fact that the risks I take for the company have paid off well for us,” he said. /lzb