Yanson scions seek to stop brother’s ‘disruptive acts’

By: Francis Allan L. Angelo

THE siblings of ousted Vallacar Transit, Inc. (VTI) president Leo Rey Yanson had asked the Regional Trial Court in Bacolod City to stop their brother’s purported moves to disrupt the operations of the biggest bus operator in Visayas and Mindanao.

In a statement, VTI, which is now headed by Leo Rey’s older brother Roy Yanson, said it filed last July 16, 2019 a suit for Injunction with an application for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) “to put a stop to acts he (Leo Rey) and his cohorts have been committing since the weekend to disrupt company operations that directly affect company employees and the riding public.”

Aside from Roy, other Yanson children – Celina, Ricardo Jr., and Emily – also voted out Leo Rey from the company’s helm three weeks ago.

VTI, a subsidiary under the Yanson Group of Bus Companies founded by the late Ricardo B. Yanson Sr., accused Leo Rey of forcing employees to defy the new management and demeaning the new company officers.

“We had previously appealed to Leo Rey to desist from forcing employees to defy new management’s actions to the extent of directing them to go on strike or demean us through posters of sympathy for him and his group. He has even asked union officers to feign a strike by paying-off employees to do nothing, and pretend that a strike is taking place, when there is and continues to be no reason for doing so,” the statement added.

Roy Yanson’s camp also rapped Leo Rey for allegedly using “extra-legal acts to leverage his position at the risk of going against the very purpose for which our group of companies were organized.”

“Our hand was thus forced to use the very same courts of law to deter Leo Rey from pursuing his continued lawlessness.”

VTI said Leo Rey also violated an agreement between the two parties’ lawyers to refrain from giving information to journalists that might further deteriorate their relationships.

“He shared with them (media) the result of a private meeting that he himself requested with Mr. Roy V. Yanson, incumbent company President, to settle the fate of the company by the toss of a coin. This incident was reported in a news article published in a national broadsheet for all Filipinos to read.”

The company said the coin-toss suggestion of Leo Rey will ridicule of the legal system and the firm’s board that voted to oust him from office.

“Leo Rey’s suggestion is a mockery of the courts whose authority he had invoked as the arbiter of our disputes. It defies the majority Board member’s decision to replace him for acts he had committed relating to the use of its funds. This defiance explains why a TRO application he filed only last Friday (July 12, 2019) was suddenly withdrawn at the hearing on Monday, July 15, 2019. His recent acts plainly manifest the little regard he has of the law, and his use of devices and schemes, whether lawful or not, to leverage his position to harm the company.”

Because of his actions, VTI workers are caught in the crossfire of the ongoing family feud.

“Worse, Leo Rey’s acts have placed the lives of VTI employees in jeopardy by causing confusion among them, threatening the very source of their livelihood, directing security guards to bar us from entering terminal offices, with the riding public being the hapless onlookers to his antics. His conduct has only caused harm, injury, and undue hardships to everyone who rely on the company for its continued operation.”

Still, Roy Yanson’s group said they are willing to settle the dispute in a peaceful and legal manner despite the accusations they levelled at Leo Rey.

“We again extend our offer of peace to Leo Rey and his supporters to allow the Rule of Law that he himself invoked to resolve our differences. While these proceedings may take time, his resort to maneuvers outside of the law that sow terror and uncertainty to everyone, should stop. Our father’s commitment to the public and our very purpose as a company should be respected by him even in these difficult moments we all are facing.”