Forty-two former employees of Vallacar Transit Inc., operator of the Ceres Bus fleet, filed criminal complaints on Thursday, April 30, against company officials for allegedly forcing them out of their jobs during an internal family struggle for control of the transport empire seven years ago, human rights lawyer Dino De Leon said.
De Leon, counsel for the complainants, said they filed three separate counts of grave coercion against Olivia Yanson, Leo Rey Yanson, Ginnette Dumancas and other responsible officers of the company before the Bacolod City Prosecutor’s Office.
“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 at a press conference at Benjamin Hall in Bacolod City.
“The respondents prevented them from doing something lawful and compelled them into choices against their will,” De Leon said.
De Leon said he believes that the totality of circumstances show the elements of grave coercion under Article 286 of the Revised Penal Code.
According to the filing, the alleged coercion occurred during a leadership battle inside the company, particularly between rival groups within the Yanson family in 2019.
Although the alleged crimes happened seven years ago, de Leon said grave coercion cases could still be filed since no prescription period had lapsed.
He said it was only this year that the ex-workers approached him for help. They are being assisted by the four Yanson siblings, de Leon said.
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, a press release distributed during the press conference said.
These happened as there were coercive measures to take over the terminals and offices, including the use of armed men and police without a court order, it 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, the press release said.
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, it said.
The former employees said they never voluntarily stopped working and never chose to take sides in the family dispute, it added.
Ginnette Dumancas, when asked for their side on the cases filed, said “I just saw that they filed a case against us in the news. I cannot comment on anything because I have yet to receive the case documents first”.*
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