Photo By: Rotsen Oliver Silver Star is a bus company serving the Metro Manila - Eastern Visayas route. Based in San Pedro, Laguna, the company is owned by the influential Mercado family, who possibly may be related to the Rizal family of Calamba. Silver Star's ancestral roots may be traced back to 1968, when spouses Artemio and Josefina Mercado established the 4-unit JAM Transit, Inc., with an authorized route between their hometown of Biñan in Laguna and Plaza Lawton in Manila. Since then, four units become hundreds as they establish more routes and organized more companies: JAM Liner, Laguna Transportation Company, AMA Trans, among a few. The Mercado family's first decline in business came in 1997, during the Asian financial crisis. In a dire situation, they were forced to let go of many of their assets, most particularly the JAM brand that carried the family initials. Crucial routes in Batangas, Quezon, and Bicol region (thru AMA Trans) were sold to Penta Realty in 2000,