A 78-year-old retired executive of the Yanson Group of Bus Companies has filed criminal complaints against family matriarch Olivia Yanson and her son, Leo Rey Yanson, alleging they used false sworn statements to prosecute him for a carnapping charge of which he was later acquitted.

Human rights lawyer Dino de Leon, representing Antonio “Tony” Zerna, filed a complaint for perjury and falsification against Olivia Yanson before the Office of the City Prosecutor in Bacolod City on Thursday.

The filing follows a separate complaint for falsification of a private document filed against Leo Rey Yanson before prosecutors in Batangas City on 3 July.

De Leon said the complaints seek accountability for the alleged false statements that led to Zerna’s multiyear legal ordeal.

Zerna, who began working for the transit conglomerate in 1969 and rose to general manager of its Mindanao operations, was arrested twice and detained for 24 hours before a trial court acquitted him in November 2023.

The initial carnapping case was filed in Tanjay City, Negros Oriental, in 2020 but was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Prosecutors refiled the case in Batangas City in March 2022.

De Leon said the emotional toll of the protracted legal battle contributed to the severe stress and subsequent death of Zerna’s wife of 50 years in September 2023.

Meantime, the complaint against Leo Rey Yanson challenges a February 2021 certification stating that Zerna lacked corporate authorization to possess a Toyota Fortuner.

The vehicle had been assigned to Zerna during his decades of service under the company's late founder, Ricardo Yanson Sr.

The separate complaint against Olivia Yanson targets a secretary's certificate and general information sheets she allegedly executed as corporate secretary of Ceres Transport Inc. The documents allegedly authorized the carnapping lawsuit and altered the listed composition of the company's board.

De Leon also alleged that Olivia Yanson falsely certified under oath that a valid board meeting with a quorum had taken place to approve the legal action.

In its November 2023 acquittal, the trial court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove its case. The court cited an ongoing intra-corporate dispute within Ceres Transport Inc. and found that Zerna held the vehicle with a "color of authority."

De Leon said the newly filed cases seek to determine whether the Yansons' sworn statements constitute perjury and falsification under the law, adding that Zerna deserves justice after years of public accusations and defending himself against a rejected case.