On the Yanson group row

THROUGH our legal counsel, Atty. Sigfrid Fortun, we filed a [petition for a] Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against our former president and member of the board, Mr. Leo Rey Yanson.

This civil complaint, which we lodged before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Bacolod City, is based on several acts made by Mr. Leo Yanson together with several cohorts that, directly and indirectly caused disruptions in our company operations.

This appeal for an immediate relief is for the good of this company which our deceased father built, the late Ricardo Yanson senior, which we believe is being unduly harmed by the acts and actuations of our brother, Mr. Leo Yanson together with his cohorts.

Enough is enough. As elders of our family, we need to put our foot down against these acts being committed by our youngest brother, Leo Rey.

Despite our appeals for sobriety, even extended an olive branch to Mr. Leo Yanson, and even sat down with him to reasonably listen to him and discuss his thoughts on this company which he is a member of, as one of the board of directors,  the respondent continues to undertake acts inimitical to the interests of our company.

Inspite of an order by the court, refraining all camps from sharing information about cases involving the family, Mr. Leo Rey even shared several confidential information particularly on his meeting with Mr. Roy Yanson, our company president.

During this meeting, Mr. Leo Rey

challenged our president, Mr. Roy Yanson to just put under a “toss coin” the fate of the company. This was reported by Inquirer business writer Dax Lucas in his news item, published for all Filipinos to see yesterday and today.

Mr. Leo Rey’s suggestion is a direct mockery of the courts, which he initially went to and filed a TRO which he likewise recently withdrew. By availing a remedy from the courts, Mr. Leo Rey recognized its jurisdiction, authority and sagacy and subscribed to the majesty of the law.

Unfortunately, Mr. Leo Yanson’s recent acts, even his toss coin dare, are direct and irrefutable proofs of how he regards our courts and the law.

Worse, Mr. Leo Yanson’s acts have place the lives of employees in jeopardy and caused harm, injury and undue hardships not only to us, his siblings, but even to our employees and to some extent, our riding public.

When Mr. Yanson filed a TRO before the courts, we respectfully responded and recognized the authority of the courts to hear and resolve our legal dispute with him.

On July 12, 2019, Leo Rey, together with his mother, Olivia and sister Ginnette, instructed the guards deployed at the North and South bus terminals not to recognize and bar entry against members of the company’s board.

This act made by Leo Rey, OVY and GYD severely impaired bus transport operations in the two terminals and caused confusion among its employees which acts affect the public service commitments of VTI and the entire Yanson Group of Bus companies mandated by law and their franchise to provide continuous transportation services to the riding public.

On July 14, 2019 at around 3 pm, officers of the Philippine Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Workers Union–Trade Union of Congress of the Philippines, the exclusive bargaining agent of the rank and file employees of VTI provoked an incident instigated by defendant that again imperiled company operations and public service.

Officers of the union incited work stoppage to the bus drivers, conductors, and dispatchers (employees) by telling them to stop driving and plying routes of their buses in the Bacolod North terminal. They were offered P400 to simply do nothing and cooperate with the union to give a semblance of a labor strike. However, the employees did not heed the illegal orders from the union leaders as they knew that it would disrupt the operations of the bus company to the riding public which was its and their primary functions.

Upon learning about the union’s unlawful activities at fomenting a semblance of a labor unrest, we went immediately to the terminal. AGNSA guards blocked the terminal’s main ingress and egress. We were prevented from entering our offices despite introducing ourselves as members of the Board and corporate officers.

We later learned that the AGNSA guards did what they did pursuant to the directive of our mother, Olivia, who had always been acting for and in the interest of defendant.

Considering that defendant, his agents, representatives, cohorts, and all those acting under his direction and control are performing acts deliberately designed to confuse the public and VTI’s employees, disrupt the operations of VTI’s business which is vested with public interest, instigate controversies against us as the new company management and VTI’s employees where there is none, complicate the issues he himself submitted for resolution in Commercial Case No. 19-118 now pending before Branch 53, and prevent the exercise of our functions as the current officers of the corporation, there is now an extreme and urgent necessity to issue a 72-hour temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction directing our brother, Leo Rey and all those acting under his control, influence, and direction to cease-and-desist from performing acts sabotaging the normal operations of VTI and preventing the defendants from performing their functions as officers of the corporation.

The deliberate attempts of the defendant and those who are acting for his interest or under his direction and influence, to undermine and prevent us from exercising our rights as directors and corporate officers of VTI is a violation of law. Considering that LRY has already been removed as president, he no longer has the right to control the day-to-day operations of the corporation.

Leo Rey has thought it prudent to question the propriety of his ouster as President and other acts of plaintiffs in Commercial Case No. 19-118 before Branch 53 is testament to his own commitment to the Rule of Law, and preference to have the issues between him and defendants resolved by that court.

To interfere, stop, impede, sabotage, create confusion, or deter us and VTI from performing lawful tasks in pursuance of the riding public’s interests despite Leo Rey’s submission of issues involving the propriety of his ouster and acts of plaintiffs at the VTI special Board meeting on July 7, 2019 with Branch 53 in Commercial Case No. 19-118 is to take the law into his own hands, defy the jurisdiction of that court which he had invoked and submitted himself to, and disrespect Branch 53’s authority as the sole arbiter of who between the parties acted in accordance with VTI’s By-Laws and the Revised Corporation Code.

Any extraneous act of Leo Rey intended to go against us as officers of VTI will be anathema to good order and a direct assault on the integrity of the legal system as it shows he can ask for succor from the courts when beleaguered, and yet does extra-legal acts outside of the court and legal system, to get his way.

These acts include inciting the labor union to join his campaign at ousting plaintiffs from their positions, posting placards or banners to demean plaintiffs or their authority as officers, stopping company operations or impeding it, barring plaintiffs from entering and exiting offices of the VTI including its terminals, and doing such other maneuvers to defeat the very purpose of bringing his legal issues to Branch 53 and this Honorable Court to resolve.

May God bless us all. – Board of Directors, Yanson Group of Companies, July 19, 2019