"I AM your mother and I never have any favoritism among the six of you. I carried you all in my womb for nine months, and took care of you while striving hard to give you comfortable lives. As your mother, I don’t want anyone to hurt you."
This was the statement of Yanson's matriarch, Olivia Yanson, to her six children amid the controversy of the family’s squabbling.
"To my four children -- Roy, Emily, Celina and Ricky -- I am old and weary of this squabble. But have you ever thought of my welfare as your mother amid this controversy?" Mrs. Yanson said.
She added: "It pains me to see you fighting. This is not my wish nor the wish of your late father. We established this transportation business that we will leave behind as our legacy, and give you the honor to run and manage it when you have come of age. But what humbled me most is seeing you all succeed in your respective endeavors. I prayed every night that the good Lord will keep you secure in His loving ways. Your father and I fulfilled our dream of making sure that you and your children’s children will live comfortable lives. As your mother, I need your respect, attention, love and care. I draw my strength from God after realizing that you were never there for me when I needed you most."
She also pointed to her four children, "You had been telling people that Ginnette and Leo Rey are my favorites? As parents, too, do you have any favoritism among your children? Have you ever asked yourselves about it?"
She said "Ginette and Leo Rey showed me love and respect. When I asked them to return my shares in the corporation, they voluntarily gave them back to me. When I am not feeling well, they took care and spent time with me."
"What about the four of you? Where were you when I needed you the most? Have you ever visited or checked on me to find out if I am okay? I live in a big house surrounded by my helpers and people who care for me. Have you ever thought of dropping by to just say a simple greeting that would lighten up my day?" she asked her four children.
"I find solace from people who came by my house to give me words of encouragement. On special occasions, your drivers came to bring me flowers. I don’t need those expensive flowers. I want your presence. I need your comforting and loving words that would assure me that you my children would be there for me," she said.
She also appealed to her children to not put the blame on her.
"I am your mother. Do not hate me for I am your mother. You are my children and nobody can change that. I love you all unconditionally. And as the saying goes, children can forsake their mother but a mother can never forsake her children," she said.
The Yanson matriarch's statement came after one of her children, Roy, asked her to stop playing favorites.
"While it pains us to see our family being wrecked by these controversies, it further hurts us to know that our mother is playing favorites when this is the particular time that the family needs unity. Our mother is already old. She must retire already and trust her children with the reigns of the company. She must not play favorites. We are not kids anymore," said Roy in a statement.
The intra-corporate dispute among the Yansons has been ongoing for weeks now. It reportedly started after the board of directors of the Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI) decided to terminate the services of Leo Rey Yanson as company president.
The VTI is under the Yanson Group of Bus Companies, which owns the Ceres buses and four other bus companies. (SunStar Bacolod)