Yansons willing to settle dispute with matriarch ‘as long as within bounds of law’

Roy Yanson (left) and Leo Rey Yanson. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

MANILA, Philippines – Members of the Yanson family who claim to have control of bus company Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI) have expressed their willingness to settle corporate disputes with their estranged mother, but only “within the bounds of the law.”

Emily Yanson, one of the company’s board members and VTI’s vice president for administration, said on Friday that they respect the call of their brother Roy Yanson, current VTI president, to reconcile with mother Olivia Yanson.

Olivia was the co-founder of the bus network which has over 4,800 buses in its fleet and around 18,000 employees nationwide.

“We respect and admire the hand of reconciliation extended by our brother Roy. We love and respect our mother,” Emily said in a statement.

“While reconciliation is not farthest from our minds, it must however, be within the bounds of law and justice,” she added.  “Leo Rey must first stop committing acts beyond the bounds of the law, and follow the Family Constitution, and the shareholder’s agreement which he himself agreed and signed in 2010 and 2013 respectively.”

Leo Rey Yanson was the former president of VTI, which controls Ceres Liner and Sugbo Transit.  He was ousted by the Yanson siblings in early July, who in turn installed Roy.

READ: PH’s biggest bus venture wracked by siblings’ feud 

However, recent stories point to Leo Rey as the company’s president, as Olivia spearheaded a meeting which also elected a new set of directors.  The special stockholders meeting was supposedly held at the company’s main office in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City.

Aside from Olivia and Leo Rey, the new board members were Ginnette Yanson-Dumancas and Charles Dumancas

READ: Restored Yanson management tightens hold on PH’s largest bus firm 

However, Emily insisted that the meeting had no bearing as Leo Rey had no authority in calling for such events, and because the requirements for a quorum to be declared was not attained.

“Under the Corporate Code, a quorum represents 50 percent plus one. Without the presence of the stockholders representing 61% shareholdings and therefore majority of the company; namely, Roy and Susan, Celina and Juan Manuel, Ricky, and myself,” she explained.

“How can a quorum be declared to exist with only 38% of the shares represented?” she asked.  “Without a quorum, the Leo Rey-initiated meeting was void from the beginning.”

Another Yanson in Celina Yanson-Lopez, VTI’s chief financial officer, said that the meeting was a waste of time, saying that Leo Rey knows for a fact that the meeting was not valid.

“That meeting should have been adjourned. Majority of the shareholders weren’t there.  Leo Rey and Ginette hold only 38% of the shares, while our mother, Olivia does not have any shares of the company, as reflected in the 2019 SEC General Information Sheet of VTI,” Celina noted.

“How can a minor shareholder trump the majority shareholders? What do you call then a meeting without a quorum—a rump or bogus one, right? So, whatever decisions which Leo Rey and the others who attended that meeting had, including those of Charles Dumancas, husband of Ginette, are what we can describe as a ‘sham,’” she added.

The Yanson Group is one of the largest bus companies not only in the Philippines, but also in Southeast Asia.  According to previous reports, the 52-year-old conglomerate now services around 700,000 passengers daily.

The company has at least 15 bases of operations to include Bacolod City, Iloilo, Dumaguete, Cebu, Cagayan De Oro, Butuan, Davao, Pagadian, Dipolog, Bohol and Batangas. /jpv