LTFRB-7 reiterates warning against riding colorum buses

CEBU, Philippines - The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-7 strongly warned passengers not to ride colorum buses pointing the big risk since these buses are not insured.

“Risgo kaayo mosakay og colorum nga mga buses kay simbako ug naay disgrasya ang mga pasahero walay madawat nga benepisyo sa insurance, (Riding on colorum buses is risky because when accidents occur, passengers will not receive insurance benefits),” LTFRB-7 regional director Ahmed Cuizon said.

Jocelyn Costanilla, wife of Melvin Costanilla, who was one of the 12 casualties in the Naga City accident last week, said that despite her husband’s death, she is still thankful that the bus her husband was riding is insured by the Passenger Accident Management Insurance.

PAMI is one of the two accredited insurance companies of LTFRB and has been operating in the industry since 1999.

PAMI-Cebu manager Judy Durano said that of the 12 casualties, Costanilla was the first to receive P35,000 cash as beneficiary. Costanilla still has to receive an additional P40,000 once all the documentary requirements are complied with.

Durano said that all other beneficiaries will follow.

“We are prompt in payment basta malihok lang gyud dayon ang mga requirements like police report,” Durano added.

Under the insurance policy, beneficiaries are entitled to receive P75,000 for death of a passenger and P15,000 each for those injured passengers.

“Sa wala pa nisakay sa bus akong bana, nagbinuang daw na sa iyang kumpare nga nagluto og balanghoy. Iyang geingnan iyang kumpare, nga mas maayo pa musakay og sakyanan nga walay brake kay og madisgrasya, naa pay madawat. Pero ug mukaon ka og balanghoy unya mahilo ka, wa gyud kay madawat. Nababaan gyud sa akong bana ang mahitabo niya, (Before my husband’s death, he allegedly joked to his friend who was cooking cassava that it is much better to ride a bus without brakes because when accidents happen, victims receive compensation but if you eat cassava and get poisoned, you receive nothing),” said Costanilla, a housewife and now a widow and a mother of six children.

Costanilla said she will use the insurance benefit she received to pay for the burial expenses of her husband and the rest of the amount will be used for the education of their children. She is also planning to start a small business.

“Unom akong anak. Wala koy trabaho. Usahay maninda ko og saging unya ilibod sa mga silingan, (I have six children and don’t have a job. Sometimes I sell bananas to our neighbors),” said Costanilla, whose husband used to work at Metaphil.

Cuizon said that Cebu has 1,600 buses and mini-buses and only around 80 percent are insured.

Cuizon added that insurance premium is only P1,400 per unit and franchise fee is P520 which is renewable every five years.

When asked why some bus owners opt to operate illegally considering the risks, Cuizon said most of these buses are no longer road-worthy and cannot pass the road worthiness test.

“Dili na ni sila magpa test, kay they knew di sila makapasar. Mao nang mag colorum na lang. So dapat ang mga pasahero, adto gyud manakay sa terminal and see to it they are riding sa mga well-known na nga mga buses kay kana sila tested na na sila, (They don’t want to undergo tests because they know they will fail so they operate illegally. That is why passengers should go to terminals ang make sure they are riding well-known buses because they are already tested),” Cuizon added.

These colorum buses normally operate at dawn where law enforcers are already asleep.

Before a bus unit is granted a franchise, bus operators have to show first a certificate of roadworthiness from the Motor Vehicle Inspection Center of the Land Transportation Office.

An insurer will only insure a bus if the operator can show such certificate from MVIC and a franchise from LTFRB. (FREEMAN)