‘Yanson 4’ asks court to void rival siblings’ Dec. 7 meeting

Roy Yanson (left) and Leo Rey Yanson. (Contributed photos)

MANILA, Philippines — A faction of the feuding Yanson family, owners of the Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI), has asked the court to nullify the Dec. 7 stockholders meeting that their rival siblings had earlier touted as valid.

The feuding Yanson family recently held two separate stockholders meetings and elected two different sets of officers.

READ: 2 Yanson factions in giant bus firm elect rival boards on same day

Roy, Ricardo, Emily, and Ma. Lourdes Celina — collectively called the Yanson 4 — filed before the Regional Trial Court of  Bacolod City a fresh lawsuit against their siblings Leo Rey and Ginette on Monday.

“Petitioners are shareholders of Vallacar Transit Inc., a domestic transportation company with offices in Bacolod City. They own 61.16 percent of its shares based on the amended General Information Sheet of the company filed with the SEC on December 6, 2019,” the Yanson 4 said in their court filing.

Documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission-Bacolod Extension Office showed that as of Dec. 6, 2019, only 2.068 million shares had been duly issued by the company of which Roy, Emily, Celina, and Ricardo, Jr. cumulatively own the majority.

Thus, petitioners questioned the basis used by Leo Rey and Ginette in holding their own stockholders’ meeting.

The other group, which is led by family matriarch Olivia Yanson, is refuting the four sibling’s claim of majority ownership and is in physical control of the firm’s bus operations throughout the Visayas and Mindanao.

The Yanson 4 accused their siblings of violating the by-laws of the company and the Corporation Code for not respecting the rights of existing shareholders to buy unissued shares first.

In addition, no taxes on those transfers of shares were paid to the Bureau of Internal Revenue nor subject for registration in the company’s books, the petitioners noted.

Meanwhile, the Yanson 4 insisted that their meeting, attended by SEC Bacolod Extension Office as observers, complied with all requirements of Vallacar’s by-laws and the voting requirements under the Revised Corporation Code.

The Bacolod SEC Extension Office has already clarified that they were not favoring or passing judgment on the meeting held by the Yanson 4 but merely attended the meeting as observers.

Vallacar Transit is the largest subsidiary of the Yanson Group of Bus Cos., the firm behind Ceres Liner and Sugbo Transit.

/atm