Vallacar Transit Inc., which operates the Ceres Liner passenger buses in the Visayas and Mindanao, remains apolitical, its matriarch, Olivia V. Yanson, said.
“I regret to say that politics is not my cup of coffee and will never be. I am too old for that,” Yanson said in reaction to allegations that she is supporting a particular candidate in the May 9 polls.
“Politicians are all my friends. They greet me every time we meet. There is nothing malicious if people will see me talking to them. Before the pandemic, I invited them to my birthday. I do not see any reason now to put any malice with my association to any of my politician friends,” she added.
Yanson said that through the years, VTI remains apolitical in the local election and no particular name or names have been endorsed.
She said that her late husband, VTI founder Ricardo Yanson, was resolute in his stance that the company would never be involved in any political party.
He wanted to establish a harmonious relationship with any political aspirant regardless of their political affiliation for the best interest of Bacolod City and Negros Occidental, she added.
Since early 2021, while everybody was bracing to combat COVID-19, the name of the Yanson matriarch, who is the VTI corporate secretary, has been maliciously dragged and is, purportedly, supporting a particular candidate in the local political arena.
But Yanson, in a statement Jan. 20, said, “I am at the stage of my life where I just want to enjoy and help the impoverished people through my medical missions. I can serve my fellow Negrosanons without any political affiliation”.
OVY will turn 88 years old on Jan. 23, and said she does not want a pompous celebration. She said her birthday wish is for everybody to live a normal life again.
She admitted that VTI has been greatly affected by the COVID pandemic.
“Despite this global crisis, my youngest son, Leo Rey, the president and chief executive officer of our company, makes sure that no employee will be retrenched,” she said. “For two years now, our 18,000 loyal employees live within the means of our daily operations. I am a mother of these employees. If you are a mother, you would prioritize the welfare of your children before the needs of others.” |NND
