Dismissal of trespassing rap vs. Y4 in Dumaguete upheld

The regional prosecutor upheld the resolution of the city prosecutor of Dumaguete dismissing the trespassing complaint filed against the Yanson 4.

Atty. Carlo Joaquin Narvasa, in a press statement to NDB, said that in its resolution on June 3, 2020, “the Office of the Regional Prosecutor upheld the Resolution of the City Prosecutor of Dumaguete dismissing in its entirety the complaint for trespassing filed by Olivia Yanson against her children Roy Yanson, Ricardo Yanson Jr., and Ma. Lourdes Celina Yanson-Lopez, also known as the Y4 with Emily Yanson completing the quartet.”

Narvasa also said that “in its November 29, 2019 resolution, the City Prosecutor of Dumaguete found that because the Y4 are Olivia Yanson’s children and the property which were entered into is registered in her name as well as her late husband Ricardo Yanson, Sr., the latter’s passing vested upon the Y4 hereditary and co-ownership rights over the property. It also found that Olivia Yanson had no personal knowledge of the incident complained of.”

“The Office of the Regional Prosecutor held that there was no reason to reverse the findings of the City Prosecutor of Dumaguete, and noted that the purpose of preliminary investigation is to secure the innocent against hasty, malicious and oppressive prosecution,” the Y4’s lawyer added.

“The Office of the Regional Prosecutor ruled that despite ownership by Olivia Yanson of the property, it was being used by Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI), of which the Y4 are directors and officers. Due to this, as well as the pending intra-corporate case in Bacolod City, it cannot rule on the Y4 or their representatives being stripped of their authority to enter it,” he also said in the statement.

Atty. Narvasa, meanwhile said that, “as for the charge that the Y4 should be liable for the change of security personnel in the property, the Regional Prosecutor averred that such ‘issue involves administrative and managerial protocols which this Office has no basis to tackle without any evidence or legal basis to begin with.'”*

Narvasa and other lawyers of the Y4 hailed the recognition by the Office of the Regional Prosecutor, “that the intra-corporate case in Bacolod would be determinative of the management and control of VTI, and in conjunction with it the propriety of filing cdminal cases on its behalf against the Y4.”*