By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Following yesterday’s report that revealed Roy Yanson, president of Vallacar Transit Incorporated (VTI), parent company of the Ceres bus liner, considers the proposed strike by the Philippine Agriculture Commercial and Industrial Workers Union (PACIWU) an “illegal” act, he affirmed “management will surely oppose the notice to strike.”
Earlier, PACIWU National President Hernane Braza revealed plans to file a strike notice before the National Conciliation and Mediation Board and Department of Labor and Employment in Bacolod City. Despite the union recognizing ousted company president Leo Rey Yanson as the head of VTI, the union official affirmed they would have demonstrated regardless of who sat as company president, citing cases of union official harassment and violations to “economic provisions.”
In response to Braza’s harassment claims, the company president denied the allegations and said the union is intending to “destabilize the company.”
Meanwhile, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said earlier this week that he hopes the strike does not materialize, noting, “Negrenses [have a] great dependence on Ceres buses.”
Lacson has already ordered the provincial government to prepare for the possibility of a strike and called on local government units to assist in the matter should employees demonstrate./DGB, WDJ