42 former Ceres Bus workers sue Vallacar officials for coercion

BACOLOD CITY — Forty-two former employees of Vallacar Transit, Inc., operator of the Ceres Bus fleet, filed criminal complaints Thursday against company officials, accusing them of forcing the workers out of their jobs during an internal family struggle for control of the transport empire.

The complaints, lodged a day before Labor Day, were filed as three separate counts of grave coercion against Olivia Yanson, Leo Rey Yanson, Ginnette Dumancas, and other responsible officers of the company.

Human rights lawyer Atty. Dino De Leon, counsel for the complainants, linked the alleged human and labor rights abuses inside one of Asia’s largest bus fleets to what he described as the climate of impunity during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

“We are here to defend 42 workers in relation to the violations committed against them in one of the largest bus fleets in Asia and seek justice for them,” De Leon said.

“The respondents prevented them from doing something lawful and compelled them into choices against their will,” he said. “They were placed in a position where they had to choose between their dignity and their livelihood.”

De Leon argued that the totality of circumstances satisfies the elements of grave coercion under Article 286 of the Revised Penal Code.

Citing People v. Arnado, later recognized in Vallacar Transit, Inc. v. Yanson, Jr., he said grave coercion exists when a person is prevented from doing something not prohibited by law, or compelled to do something against his will, through violence, threats, or intimidation, without lawful authority.

According to the complaints, some former employees were barred from reporting for work, marked as “banned,” or later branded as absent without official leave and accused of violating company rules.

These actions occurred alongside coercive measures to take over the terminals and offices, including the use of armed men and police without a court order, the complainants said.

Others said they were subjected to forced retirement, pressured resignations, or induced to sign separation papers under threat of losing their jobs or benefits.

Still others who were reinstated on paper said they were demoted, placed on floating status without real assignments, or transferred to hostile and unrelated manual work.

The former employees said they never voluntarily stopped working and never chose to take sides in the family dispute.

“We did not voluntarily stop working, nor did we choose to become involved in that conflict,” the workers said in their complaints. “Instead, we were forced into to take sides in a fight that had nothing to do with us.”

De Leon, who serves as counsel for former Senator and now Representative Leila de Lima, among others, said the alleged abuses reflected the broader climate of impunity during the Duterte administration.

He singled out the alleged use of police and armed men to take over bus terminals during that period.

“The facts show that the Duterte administration had a hand in this of abuse of workers’ rights, and used brute strength in the take-over that displaced workers without imprimatur of any court,” he said.

De Leon said the political atmosphere at the time emboldened powerful interests.

“Ito na ang oras ng paniningil. Inabuso ang mga manggagawang ito dahil protektado nung panahon na ito ang mga abusado nakaupo na si Pangulong Duterte. That is no longer the case today. Ang 42 empleyadong ito ay handa nang humarap at kunin ang hustisyang matagal ipinagkait sa kanila,” De Leon said.

According to the filing, the alleged coercion occurred during a leadership battle inside the company, particularly between rival groups within the Yanson family.

The stoppage of dispatch operations, the prohibition against reporting for work, and the control of terminal access were not ordinary management decisions, the complainants said, but acts designed to impose the influence of one faction over another, directly affecting the workers’ ability to earn a living.

The complainants described what they called a repeated and systematic pattern of pressure: sudden suspension of operations; blocking of employees from working; physical restrictions on access to terminals and workplaces; the public posting of names and photographs of workers allegedly not allowed to enter; and later, declarations that some had gone AWOL.

Taken together, those acts resulted in the forced loss of livelihood, De Leon said.

In his opening statement, De Leon said armed SWAT and police officers took over Vallacar’s main office without a warrant during the Duterte period and forcibly removed the so-called Yanson 4, whom he described as the majority shareholders in the corporation.

He cited the case of “Manang Joyce,” a worker he said had served Vallacar for 27 years before being made to resign against her will and forced to take sides in the family dispute.

Vallacar Transit, Inc. has yet to issue a statement on the complaints.

Among the complainants was Alberto B. Cabalida Jr., a married resident of Cauayan, Negros Occidental, who had worked for Vallacar Transit, Inc. for about 10 years before being removed from his job in 2019.

Cabalida said that on or about October 19, 2019, with an effectivity date of September 24, 2019, he received a notice regarding his termination, which he said did not clearly state the reason for his dismissal.

He added that he initially wanted to sign the document “under protest,” but was allegedly told not to write those words.

Cabalida said he eventually signed because he wanted the matter to end, saying the situation had already caused him severe stress.

After receiving the notice, he said he was no longer allowed to enter the office.

Cabalida also stated that he did not claim the check allegedly connected to the notice and never voluntarily signed any resignation letter.

“What happened to me was forced resignation,” he said in his affidavit.

Another complainant, Rancie Dela Vega, 35, a resident of Negros Occidental, said he previously worked as a data entry personnel for Vallacar Transit, Inc.

In his affidavit, Dela Vega said there was an incident when he and others stayed inside the company’s main office and slept there for three nights.

He said around 300 police officers later arrived at the area, and that after the incident, he was removed from his job without any reason.