By Modesto P. Sa-onoy
As if responding to my four columns from July 2, on the legacy of Ricardo Buerom Yanson, somebody sent me a video of the last birthday celebration of the late transport magnate. It was a private, informal dinner, in fact, the video showed only three persons – Ricardo and his wife Olivia and one other that I will not identify as this matter does not involve the person. He was apparently a family guest. Olivia was seated to the left of her husband.
According to the person who shared this video, he got the copy from Facebook and found it relevant now that the family is in turmoil and I wrote about it. The sender thinks, rightly, that the words of Ricardo reinforced my analysis which was based mainly on published documents. In a way, through the sender, Ricardo confirmed my assessment that he was concerned with the unity and harmony within the family. It was as if to remind his quarreling family of what he told them on his last birthday and to confirm this to the world.
Only Ricardo spoke throughout the video. There were probably other things that happened at that party, but I was shown only the portion where he had his monologue. It was a party, after all and the entire family, including the grandchildren, were there.
He talked about almost the same thing that I wrote about regarding the importance of family unity and harmony. He cited several instances where people of wealth ended up miserable in life because of family dysfunction due to quarrels over their inheritance.
In my column on Ricardo’s legacy I wrote about the same thing – quarrels over inheritance – and what happened to those who amassed the greater share to the penury of the others.
He also spoke of the need for the members to be circumspect about money and to work for it. He was repetitive in some cases to emphasize the central theme of his message – family harmony, work, and prudence.
His words were just as prophetic as his moves to divest himself and his wife from several corporations and equitably divide the shares to his children while providing his wife with material wealth that she would never be in need. His scheme did not work after his death because of human weaknesses.
What is more revealing in that video is the demeanor of Olivia while Ricardo was delivering his message. If a picture speaks a thousand words video images tell more. Throughout Ricardo’s monologue, the camera was focused only on him and Olivia. She had her arms crossed, most often her eyes closed as if dozing, but the face spoke plenty.
If the eye is the mirror of the soul, the face is the mirror of the mind. The face betrays the hidden thoughts as feelings of anger, jealousy, greed, lust, revenge, hostility, hatred, and disdain that can never be hidden for long to some who can read facial reactions.
This video reveals the kind of relationship that the couple had. A wife would be watching her husband speak either with pride or contempt. Let the viewers read Olivia’s face to know the kind of relationship they had and understand Ricardo’s message of why this feud erupted. Olivia exhibited several facial expressions that reveal her feelings towards Ricardo.
On another matter, somebody showed me a Facebook page of Ginnette Dumancas defending the move of her mother Olivia in ejecting a family in the Yanson apartment here in Bacolod. Baciwa cut off the water connection while Ceneco did the same with the electrical connection.
The water and electricity connections were severed allegedly on request of Olivia Yanson, the owner of the apartment that she allegedly allowed her daughter Emily, during the years of their harmonious relationship, to have these doors leased and to collect the rentals.
Those days are gone, and Olivia now wants to repossess her apartment ostensibly to have it repaired because it was “dilapidated”. Some lessees left but one family refused. Thus, to force them out, the services were cut off.
That was the gist of the Facebook exchange between Ginnette and another woman. This incident raises legal and humanitarian issues thus the exchange of words in social media. Whether this issue will reach the court is not known but whatever happens Olivia’s dislike for Emily has apparently degenerate into hatred.
