By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – The Department of Justice (DOJ) dismissed complaints for qualified theft, falsification, and perjury filed by the Yanson matriarch Olivia against her children – Roy, Celina, Emily and Ricardo Jr., who are collectively known as the Y4.
Carlo Joaquin Narvasa, counsel for the Y4, said in a press statement that the DOJ, through Assistant Prosecutor Philip de la Cruz “found that the above allegations stemmed from the Extra Judicial Settlement (EJS) of the Estate of Ricardo Sr., and its amended version, but dismissed the complaint saying that these contracts are binding, unless they are annulled by a proper court action in court.”
The decision further said that “thus the filing is premature because the Trial Court of Bacolod City has yet to resolve whether or not the EJS is indeed void. In fine, no cause of action will lie against herein respondents at this stage of the proceedings and a cause of action depends upon the result of the civil case still pending with the RTC of Bacolod City.”
In her complaint, Olivia claimed that the Y4 had taken her conjugal shares in the family owned Vallacar Transit Incorporated (VTI) and apportioned them between the siblings without her consent through two EJS documents covering her husband’s Ricardo Sr. estate.
Olivia, however, admitted that she filed a suit to annul these EJS which is pending with Branch 42 of the Bacolod RTC.
Olivia further alleged that the VTI General Information sheet dated July 9, 2019, which was filed by then VTI Corporate Secretary Emily, was falsified, as it constitutes untruthful statements in a narration of facts.
The supposed untruthful statements are:
-Olivia and her late husband no longer owned 15,000 and 346,000 shares, respectively, in VTI; and
-the VTI Special Board Meeting on July 7, 2019 resulting in the ousting of then VTI President Leo Rey Yanson was valid.
Finally, Narvasa said Olivia also claimed that the November 27, 2019 complaint filed by the Y4 against her is perjurious and that the Y4 made deliberate assertions of falsehood.
However, Narvasa cited that in the 2015 EJS and the 2017 amended EJS of the Estate of Ricardo Sr., among other documents, Olivia and all her six children unanimously agreed that the six Yanson siblings would receive equal shares in the VTI and that Olivia waived her rights over those shares in favor of her children in exchange for various real and personal property.
Narvasa cited that both EJS agreements were signed in each and every page by Ricardo Sr., his heirs Leo Rey, Ginnette, Roy, Emily, Ricardo Jr., and Celina; and his wife Olivia.
Meanwhile, Narvasa also said that the case filed by the supporters of siblings Leo Rey and Ginnette, namely Anita Chua, Arvin Villaruel and Daniel Nicolas Golez, against the Y4 for perjury was also dismissed by the DOJ as according to Assistant Prosecutor Bandong, the complainants “failed to establish the third element of the crime, which is that respondents Y4 made a willful and deliberate assertion of falsehood.”
The dismissal of these complaint, Narvasa said, come after the earlier dismissal by the DOJ of another set of criminal charges against the Y4 for alleged carnapping of 55 buses, possession of explosives under Republic Act No. 9516, and robbery.
The cases are stemmed from the protracted Yanson family feud over the control of the Vallacar Group of Bus Companies and VTI.
