"FOR reconciliation to exist, there must be justice."
Celina Yanson-Lopez, one of the Yanson Four and chief financial officer of Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI), emphasized this, as she re-affirmed her commitment toward reconciliation and urged her mother, Olivia Yanson, to tell the unvarnished truth behind the alleged P380-million missing funds.
In her first public appearance since this issue broke out publicly, Celina said she was deeply hurt by allegations made against her by her mother when everyone knows who was responsible for these alleged unliquidated funds, which occurred during her watch as chief financial officer of VTI.
Without publicly mentioning the names of those involved, Celina revealed for the first time why her mother got angry last 2018 that precipitated the break between the Yanson majority and her mother taking the cudgels for Leo Rey and Ginnete.
"This thing broke out because of my mother's kind heart, pakikisama and the tendency to play favorites. 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 be sent to jail," she said.
"We wanted justice. My mother preferred her own way -- since she treated this guy as one of the family having served us for many years. 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. My mother intervened and out of pity, even wanted to pay for those funds which this guy allegedly took," Celina said.
She added that instead of castigating the man who reportedly served VTI for more than two decades, "our mother covered for his misdeeds and instead blamed us, her four children, particularly me, for the mess."
A source within the family said the guy is now enjoying his newly-found wealth in a town in Negros island. He is reportedly fond of cockfighting, said Celina.
She also said that a check with the auditing and accounting process within VTI revealed that the missing funds were reportedly withdrawn from the MPO checking account.
"The former official responsible for this and the only one authorized to sign checks, reportedly left signed blank checks with their Manila-based cashier, Rowena Sarona," she added.
"Sarona is now facing a case before the courts in Quezon City after pieces of evidence show that she was the one who allegedly encashed those checks amounting to over P380 million. It is unfair to blame me for the missing funds. I am not the signatory of the MPO account. And the man responsible for the missing funds is not even being questioned! He is being protected by my mother. He is a free man and is often seen in the company of my mother. The blame is being passed on to me and I am being tried by public opinion despite evidence that show otherwise," Celina added.
For true reconciliation to proceed, Celina advised her mother and her siblings to tell the whole truth behind this funds scandal and "move forward."
Meanwhile, the hearing on the injunction case before the sala of Judge Eduardo Sayson, acting presiding judge of Branch 53 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC), is cancelled Friday, August 30, due to an event of the RTC.
The injunction will determine whether the July 7, 2019 Special Board Meeting is legal or not. In that meeting, Leo Rey Yanson was replaced as president of the Yanson group of Bus Companies by his older brother, Roy.
Lawyer Norman Golez, legal counsel of Leo Rey, said Thursday, August 29, that they also oppose the petition for inhibition from hearing the case under Judge Sayson filed by the Yanson Four.
Golez said the other camp wanted Judge Sayson to inhibit from the case obviously because they failed to secure a favorable ruling from the court referring to the inhibition of Sayson on the petition for the issuance of a temporary restraining order relative to the August 19 special stockholders meeting conducted at the VTI main office in Barangay Mansilingan that re-elected Leo Rey as the company's president. The Yanson Four were not elected to the board anymore.
"We feel there's no ground for inhibition of Judge Sayson and the filing is a way to shop a friendlier judge. They are trying to shop for a friendlier judge," Golez said.
He said with the cancellation of the hearing on the injunction Friday, August 30, the hearing on September 6 will go on as scheduled.
Golez also revealed that the employees union has withdrawn all its demands to the management, which they referred to the Department of Labor and Employment after Leo Rey's management agreed to grant their economic demands, especially the Collective Bargaining Agreement guaranteed benefits.
"We told them we will pay them but they should give us time as the employees 201 files have been missing after LRY (Leo Rey) has fully recovered the main office and the 15 branches," Golez said.
The employees who were affected brought their cases to Dole.
"We will respect the employees' rights including their rights of security of tenure. But those who are found culpable for the things missing inside we will issue notice to explain and we will hold them administratively liable," Golez added.