By Hannah A. Papasin and Nelie France Sanchez
BACOLOD CITY – Transportation services practically halted. Intracorporation conflict. A family torn in two.
All these and more have spilled over from the traditional media to social media, specifically Facebook, which became the new platform for the conflict within the company that runs the largest public transportation in the province.
For the benefit of our readers, DNX did a content analysis of the socmed reporting regarding the intra-corporate conflict of the Yansons, the owners of the group of companies running Ceres Liner.
Specifically, DNX intended to answer the question: How did social media report on the Ceres issue?
The following major social media sites are dedicated to telling the Ceres Story:
- The Sleeping Truth
- Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI)
- Ceres Untold Stories
- The Influencer
- Bacolod Insider
- Cine Ceres
- Ceres Serye and
- We Love and Support LRY and OVY
We analyzed the Facebook pages dedicated to stories about the intra-corporate conflict, and did a content analyses on how the different issues were handled. DNX discovered that the socmed space was dichotomized into sites that side with Roy Yanson, Celina Yanson, Ricardo Yanson, Jr., and Emily Yanson (or the so-called Yanson Four) on the one hand, and Olivia Leo Rey, and Ginette on the other.
For this article, DNX examines the major pages that slant towards the Yanson Four.
The following are the results of the content analyses:
The Sleeping Truth
Type: Facebook Page.
- Content: Mainly stories that slant towards the Roy Yanson, et al
- Community
- Total Likes – 20,506 likes (as of September 15, 2019)
- Total Follows – 20,682 follows (as of September 15, 2019)
- About – Community
- Page History
- Page Created – August 1, 2019
- People who manage – Managed by three people, with Philippines as the primary location
Cross-Posts with The Influencer, Ultra Media, and Bacolod Exposed.
Other Content: Carries stories on a PNA news on police probe regarding the deployment of policemen to the Vallacar office, an article in Ultra Media on the firing of Ceres Mart employees, article taking the side of Celina on the issue of the supposed unliquidated funds.
The page also criticized Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon for the closure of DYAF Radyo Veritas “without notice” because “because the station’s programs are critical of OVY’s and LRY’s takeover of YGBC”.
The Sleeping Truth also contains videos of the closure of Ceres, and employees expressing support for Roy Yanson, and the other siblings, as well as the full statement of RSY on the family conflict.
The bulk of the stories in The Sleeping Truth is a series titled Manipulated and Shamed: The Untold Story of the Four Yanson Siblings. The series started with describing the closeness of the family under the father Ricardo Yanson, Sr. This was followed by stories on the shares of stocks, or how the Yansons divided the shares among them. It also reported the “favoritism” of Olivia Yanson towards a high company official who apparently spent bus liner’s money through his hobby (cockfighting).
The Sleeping Truth also questioned the legality of a stockholders meeting led by President Leo Rey Yanson, and attended by mother Olivia, sister Ginette Dumancas, and Ginette’s husband Charles.
However, no lawyer’s or legal expert’s opinion was taken.
The writer of The Sleeping Truth also used words usually associated with violence and criminal activity to describe the takeover (emphasis ours). This is apparent in the following text:
“Rey Yanson (LRY) forcefully took over the office of Vallacar Transit at Brgy. Mansilingan, Bacolod City in a controversial siege that happened last week.
Despite his unlawful take-over of the family-owned transport operations….
During this illegal meeting, they elected a new set of directors…”
The Sleeping Truth also pictured Olivia Yanson in very unflattering terms, using words like “wrath” and her “incomprehensible vindictiveness” as she declares a “massive war” against her children, specifically to describe her actions especially in the closure of Ceres Mart. The article on the closure stated that Olivia did it “on a whim” and that the mother “has no authority whatsoever to issue such a closure order.
Again, no expert on corporate law was quoted to shed light on the issue.
The Sleeping Truth also says that, “Everyday, there is new that publicly humiliates the four children (sic).
The FB page’s slant is also visible when it claims that, compared to Roy Yanson and Co., Leo Rey’s camp has been continually “inciting public outcry and empathy”.
The Influencer
Type: Facebook Page
- Community
- Total Likes – 531 likes (As of September 15, 2019)
- Total Follows – 542 follows (As of September 15, 2019)
- About – Personal Blog
- Page History
- Page created – July 17, 2019
- People who manage – Managed by 1 person; with Philippines as the primary location of people who manage it
Content: Mainly stories that slant towards the Roy Yanson, Celina Yanson, Ricardo Yanson, Jr., and Emily Yanson, but with legal interpretations of board meetings and intra-corporate policies.
Cross-Posts with The Sleeping Truth, and Ultra Media
Other Content: Carries radio commentary of broadcaster Donard Nojas titled Public Interest.
The page also carried the story that criticized Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon for the closure of DYAF Radyo Veritas “without notice”.
The Influencer, like The Sleeping Truth also contains videos of the closure of Ceres, employees expressing support for Roy Yanson, and the other siblings
The bulk of the stories in The Influencer are legal opinions especially on the shares of stocks of OVY, and the legality of the takeover of LRY as
The Influencer also uses words like “specious”, “legal trap” and academic-sounding phrases like “on account of his” in its reports.
Posts in The Influencer repeatedly question the legality and legitimacy of an LRY takeover, and page is full of insinuations and accusations against him, particularly supposed misuse of funds.
There is less attack on OVY, except on one of the newer posts where her behavior was dismissed as mere “theatrics and antics”. The feature-length story was based on a source who said that OVY’s plan is to “nullify her own Last Will and Testament” as she is “hell bent in disinheriting her own children to favor her two other favorite children.
The source for the story was anonymous.
Ceres Untold Stories
Type: Facebook Page.
- Community
- Total Likes – 353 likes (as of September 15, 2019)
- Total Follows – 364 likes (as of September 15, 2019)
- About – Personal Blog
- Page History
- Page Created
- July 19, 2019 – first name is Bacolod Untold Stories
- August 7, 2019 – Changed name to Ceres Untold Stories
- People who manage – Managed by four people; with Philippines as the primary location of people who manage it
- Page Created
Cross-Posts with The Sleeping Truth, Ultra Media, Cine Ceres
Other Content: Memes on Ginette Dumancas, photo quotes with Roy Yanson, photos and videos of closure.
Content: Posts are usually commentaries on commentaries. Meaning, the page administrator/content producer posts his/her opinions on content that favors Roy Yanson, and his camp. Articles are shorter, although language skews towards slang or colloquial (“MOHMAH”, “bratinela”).
It also accuses Olivia of “power-tripping” because of her decision to close Ceres Mart.
The FB page has praises for the behavior of Roy Yanson for attempting to reconcile with his family, and the level-headedness of the other siblings in his camp.
The FB page is notable for mixing Hiligaynon and English as medium in its commentaries, meaning this the FB page is meant to target millennials, or at least young adults.
Sample text: “Naka take over ang kampo nila OVY, LRY, kag GYD because overkill ang Pulis. Wala gn tugtan makakuha pagkaon and drinking water sila RSY kag iban niya nga mga kaupod, dugang pa, gin cut off nila ang electricity.”
“Ara na PNP pati BFP ara na, CENECO kag BACIWA nang utod naman?
AS OF B12:19 PM, WALA KURYENTE SA CERES MANSILINGAN COMPOUND.
DSWD, PASOK! THIS IS A VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS. TANAN NGA SANGAY SANG GOBYERNO GINA GAMIT SANG KAMPO NI LRY PARA MAKUHA ANG ILA GUSTO NGA HINDI HUSTO!”
The FB page also criticizes “paid media” as well as institutions of government – like
Cine Ceres
Type: Facebook Page
- Community
- Total Likes – 187 (as of September 15, 2019)
- Total Follows – 191 (as of September 15, 2019)
- About – Reference Website
- Page History
- Page created – August 6, 2019
- People who manage – Managed by four people; with Philippines as the primary location of people who manage it
Content: No original content.
Cross-Posts with The Sleeping Truth, and Ceres Untold Stories
Other Content: Memes on Ginette Dumancas, photo quotes with Roy Yanson.
(For the next part of the series, DNX will do content analysis on the pro-Olivia Yanson, et al pages).