YES, the Yanson family saga, marked by a succession of legal challenges, is far from over.
From the start of July until now, legal hullabaloos have continued between the two warring factions — the Yanson 4 and the Yanson 3.
The Yanson 4 comprises siblings Roy, Emily, Ma. Lourdes Celina, and Ricardo Jr.
The Yanson 3, on the other hand, comprises family matriarch Olivia Villaflores-Yanson, widely known as OVY, and her two children, Ginette and Leo Rey.
But wait, there’s more.
Enter Antonino “Tony” Zerna, OVY’s first cousin from Tanjay, Negros Oriental.
On July 2 the Yanson 3 held a press conference at their posh beach villa in Barangay Bubog, Talisay City, Negros Occidental.
The topic? Arrest warrants issued against the Yanson 4 for a qualified theft case involving more than P803.47 million in corporate funds from Mindanao Star Bus Transport, Inc. (MSBTI).
Seven days later, the Yanson 4, represented by Ma. Lourdes Celina, also held a patch-through phone press conference at O Hotel. She vehemently denied the latest claims of the Yanson 3 concerning the alleged qualified theft.
At a separate media briefing at Benjamin Hall, Zerna, accompanied by his Manila-based legal counsel, announced that he was filing a perjury case against his cousin OVY and nephew Leo Rey for filing a carnapping case against him twice – lodged before the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Tanjay City Prosecutor’s Office.
Zerna prevailed in the carnapping cases but lost his wife while he was fighting them. Now, he is seeking justice.
TIRED BUT…
In this topic, I’m skipping the legal elements. I don’t want to be charged with sub judice.
What I want to discuss is the “cracking of emotions.” Despite their serious legal disputes, the Yansons on both sides have indirectly revealed their human feelings — deep hurt, yet with an inkling of willingness to forgive for reconciliation’s sake.
There are “unspoken dramas” that the public needs to know: a mother’s pain, a daughter’s wish, and a cousin’s grief.
At the Talisay press conference, OVY made a candid revelation. She said she is tired of their family’s legal saga and now entrusts everything to the courts to decide.
OVY stressed the legal troubles of four of her children pains her also. She confessed that she had hoped for a reconciliation.
She revealed that two influential figures — former president Rodrigo Duterte and now First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos — had attempted to reconcile them, but still failed.
In the spirit of forgiveness, Ginette and Leo Rey told the press that they remain open to reconciliation but would wait for their mother’s final decision.
Whatever OVY decides, the two Yanson siblings vowed to cooperate with and support her at all costs.
WISH FOR AN ‘ANGEL’
At O Hotel, on the other hand, Ma. Lourdes Celina expressed her fervent wish for an “angel” to touch their mother’s heart and lead her toward their ultimate family reunion.
Ma. Lourdes Celina described her 92-year-old mother as a “very pleasant woman,” as long as she is not fed the wrong information.
She, too, confided that they are tired and exhausted. If given the chance, she said, they would welcome a family reunion with no legal strings attached.
Ma. Lourdes Celina delivered a heartbreaking statement that could pierce the heart — forthright and brimming with raw emotion.
But will her fervent wish come true?
Let us hope it does not lose momentum.
‘WRONGLY ACCUSED’
At Benjamin Hall, Zerna’s first media appearance also “spilled the beans.” He said he filed a perjury complaint with the Bacolod City Prosecutor’s Office on July 9 against OVY and Leo Rey.
Why?
He said, “I was imprisoned for alleged carnapping, but later acquitted due to lack of evidence. But worst, my wife died because of mental stress caused by my cases.”
His wife, Heidi, died in 2023 while he was in the midst of the legal battle.
The object of the dispute was a company vehicle assigned to him by the late Ricardo Sr.
Zerna had been with the Yansons since 1969. He started as a driver, taking the Yanson children to and from school, before being appointed to key positions in the family’s bus companies.
He served as officer-in-charge and general manager of Mindanao Star Bus Transport, Inc., Bachelor Express, Inc. and Rural Transit (Mindanao), Inc.
He retired 18 years ago but continued serving as a company consultant.
He claimed that his continued use of the company vehicle was authorized by Don Ricardo Sr.
Even after Don Ricardo Sr. died in 2015, Zerna was still called from time to time to address issues concerning YGBC operations.
But when the family feud erupted seven years ago, he found himself caught in the crossfire.
He said he was perceived to be siding with the Yanson 4 and was thus “wrongly accused” of carnapping. He stressed: “I never did it!”
Now 78, Zerna no longer wishes for family reconciliation. The pain of losing his wife remains in his heart.
Filing a case against his cousin and nephew may be taxing but for him it is a way to vent his anguish and seek justice for his beloved wife.
“All my life, I was devoted to them,” he said.
‘BLOCKBUSTER’
The Yanson family feud may be high-profile, but it is hardly unique in the country.
Yet even after seven years, Negrenses and Bacolodnons have not grown tired of following every development in the feud.
If their feud were a movie, it would undoubtedly be a blockbuster.
Still, the most talked-about angle in the Yansons’ story is the possibility of reconciliation.
My reading has helped me understand the dynamics of family feuds. At their core is often deep pain caused by a breakdown in communication.
American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald described family quarrels as bitter, rule-less and deeply wounding — unlike any other conflict./PN
