Official Statement of Mr. Roy Yanson, President, Yanson Group of Bus Companies
As President of Vallacar Transit Incorporated and the Yanson Group of Bus Companies, I strongly condemn elements of the Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) of the Philippine National Police Provincial Office Region 7 for taking part in intimidating, harassing and making illegal arrests against legitimate security personnel of our company.
We are preparing to charge those who took part in these illegal arrests and those who violated the human rights of our security personnel who suffered personal agony, distress and trauma during the time when these cops made the illegal arrests. Likewise, their acts led to a disruption of bus operations which harmed the riding public.
I urge PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde to call for an independent probe on why state security forces got involved in the internal political dynamics of our company and recommend appropriate administrative sanctions against some uniformed personnel who took part in this travesty of justice.
On or about 3 o’clock in the afternoon of Friday, July 26, at least twenty elements belonging to the SWAT and several other uniformed personnel of the Dumaguete PNP arrived in our bus terminal in Bagacay, Dumaguete City.
Led by a certain Deputy Rolly Lauron, these PNP personnel entered our premises after reportedly receiving reports that several individuals had illegally entered the premises. Eventually, they changed tune and said that they were inspecting members of our newly designated security agency, AY76, for reported violations of the security guard code.
They began arresting five of our blue guards without the appropriate arrest warrants. With the assistance of our recently retired security agency AGNSA, they managed to extricate five more blue guards who were sleeping inside the company’s resting quarters.
PNP personnel then surrounded our gate. At eleven in the evening, more PNP personnel arrived, this time led by a certain Lt. Jose Edrohil Cimafranca. The remaining members of our security personnel were immediately placed under arrest without any justification.
All our security personnel were hauled to the PNP provincial headquarters and charged with trespassing. At the inquest proceedings, all those arrested were found innocent of these charges and were set free.
As a long time partner of government, particularly of the PNP, it pains me to express extreme disappointment on the conduct of the Dumaguete police last Friday. They failed to exercise prudence. They did not conduct appropriate investigation as to the veracity of complaints of trespassing. They violated our rights to enter and conduct business in our own property.
We urge the PNP leadership to initiate a probe and punish those responsible for this. These acts taken by these uniformed personnel weaken the faith of private businesses like ours, and put in jeopardy public services which we have sworn to undertake.*
(PR/Arnel Vasquez)
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Official Statements of Leo Rey Yanson, President and CEO of Vallacar Transit, Inc.
Around past 11:30 in the evening of July 25, Roy Yanson and Ricky Yanson, together with some armed personnel, through deceit, illegally entered the Bagacay property owned by Mrs. Olivia Yanson. Having committed multiple criminal acts including grave coercion, physically assaulting the people in the area, They were thus arrested the next day by members of the Philippine National Police.
In the late morning of July 26, a few hours before the hearing of the TRO, Celina, Emily and their cohorts staged another commotion at Ceres Bata North Terminal by disrupting the normal operations of the company. Their mother, Olivia, publicly condemned and denounced their unlawful acts and stayed in the north terminal to preempt whatever plans his four children was planning of.
Fact number one: When Roy Yanson and his siblings Celina, Emily and Ricky illegally placed themselves as the management team of Vallacar Transit. They were able to take over Mansilingan only.
Fact number two: For two weeks, the 15 branches complied with the directives of their recognized legal president Leo Rey Yanson. For two weeks, all operations were running smoothly.
Fact number three: Growing desperate, it was only when they started attacking and wrestling physical control of the branches when “temporary disruptions” took place. It was Roy Yanson and his companions’ illegal actions that these things happened and not because of Leo Rey Yanson, who was simply busy running the branches for these past weeks.
Fact number four: These armed men who went inside the Bagacay compound are police officers. They were all in uniform and they were there simply to arrest the criminals who forced their way inside another person’s property. This is not a situation where might is right, but simply the rule of law in action.
Fact number five: The judge denied the TRO of both Leo Rey and Roy. This denial does not mean that Roy is the legal president. There is NO judgment yet from the court as to whoever is the legal president. Roy should have respected the status quo and refrain from a systematic attack on the branches.
Fact number six: The hearing for the TRO happened during the July 26 hearing. Roy attacked Bagacay shop in Dumaguete the day before (July 25) contrary to his version that the denial enjoined him from exercising his functions. The truth is, he did not wait for any denial. He thinks and acts as he is ABOVE THE LAW.
——–July 25, 2019
Time and time again, Mr. Roy V. Yanson, Emily Yanson, Celina Lopez and Ricky Yanson, find ways to disrupt the company operations and blame me in the process. They are the ones who are disrupting the momentum of this great company and who are making a mockery of all our company’s progress. Let me be clear: It was they who held an illegal meeting/election, assaulted Mansilingan Head Office with armed personnel and resorted to police oppression to gain control of Bacolod South. The filing of an injunction case against me already muddies further the case that I originally filed against them. This is surely done to hide the main issue that their takeover is illegal and to cover up their dirty tactics to gain control of the company.
Last July 20, despite the denial of the TRO that they filed and with an existing agreement (inside the judge’s sala) not to further escalate tensions, Roy proceeded to the south terminal and forced his way in. He justified this by an order signed by a certain Gen. Romana of Supervisory Office for Security and Investigation Agencies (SOSIA).
The order of PNP’s SOSIA to replace the guards on Sambok terminal was hinged upon a letter that he wrote to Police Gen. Noli Romana terminating the security contract with AGNSA. Mr. Roy Yanson conveniently failed to mention to the SOSIA that this is not a standard replacement of security agencies and there’s an existing intra corporate dispute among us pending before RTC 54, Bacolod City. In the said order, Col. John Trio was only ordered to assist in the PEACEFUL turn-over the security provider. Instead he acted as Mr. Roy Yanson’s personal goon and manhandled the AGNSA security guards who were merely protecting the Sambok terminal. He also threatened the guards of revoking their licenses.
It is disheartening since this is beyond his power to do so. Col. Trio, unless he is living under a rock, knew of the very existence of the dispute in this company, yet he broke countless of PNP standard operating procedures and the very laws of this country to enforce forcefully and unlawfully this order.
My employees pleaded with Col. Trio to reassess his actions, but the more they plead the more belligerent he became. Col. Trio dragged the guards and the employees who formed a barrier against this unlawful intrusion. He even ordered his men to grab both guards and employees and put them in handcuffs. He even bodily shoved some of them who were just trying to explain to him about the dispute, but he remained adamant. Col. Trio shouted and threatened the guards that he will revoke their licenses so that they will no longer have a source of livelihood. The act of Col. Trio is clearly a violation of his order. Col. Trio made himself a judge in this case and unilaterally declared that Roy and his camp are in the right.
To further strike fear in the hearts of the employees, Roy immediately went to the Bata North Terminal and bragged before the employees that the guards of AGNSA were all arrested by the police and were all dragged to the police station in handcuffs. Fortunately, I arrived in time to thwart their plans and to allay the fears of the employees at the North terminal. On July 26, despite a new SOSIA order to maintain the peace, Roy also attacked the Dumaguete shop at midnight bringing with them more armed guards and once again forcefully took over another company property.
It never occurred to me that my own siblings would resort to something so blatantly illegal and desperate. It saddens me to realize that my siblings think that they are all above the law.
With this, I implore Roy, Emily, Celina and Ricky to respect the status quo and wait for the decision of the court regarding the case of injuction I originally filed against them. For the sake of all our employees, they must follow the law.
But at the back of my mind, I fear for the worst. If these past weeks have taught me anything is that Roy and the other three like to commit their most unlawful actions during weekends when I cannot immediately seek the help of the courts. I pray that I am wrong for the sake of our employees who constantly live in fear.*
(PR/JSM via NDB)