Tourist bus owner's franchise suspended

MANILA, Philippines - The Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has suspended the franchise of JD Victory Services, the company that owned the bus that plunged into a 30-meter-deep ravine along Trans Central Highway in Cebu last Sunday.

LTFRB Chairman Jimmy Pesigan said the operations of the firm were immediately suspended for 30 days after he received report of the accident.

JD Victory Services owns only one bus unit. The firm owns 33 units of vans and cars.

The company has to surrender the license plates of all its vehicles. All its drivers will also have to undergo training.

Cattleya Tourist Bus (GWZ-666), carrying mostly Iranian medical practitioners, was traveling to Balamban when it apparently lost its brakes. Twenty-one were killed while 24 were injured.

Pesigan said they will investigate if there were lapses on the part of management or human error on the part of the driver.

The driver, identified as Jaime Batoon, who perished in the accident, is the operator of the bus and the proprietor of the company.

Police investigators are looking at the possibility that mechanical problem caused the accident.

Central Visayas Police director Chief Superintendent Lani-O Nerez said they are verifying reports that the bus produced smoke and a loud sound indicating friction of two gears.

Marcelin Marimon, Batoon’s live-in-partner and co-owner of the transport company, said they purchased the bus —a reconditioned and converted unit originally manufactured in Japan —in Subic, Olongapo for P1.6 million.

Marimon said that they were supposed to cancel the booking because their driver was unavailable but since they have already confirmed the reservation, Batoon himself drove the bus.

Marimon gave assurance that Jaime is a professional and used to drive vans, coasters and jeepneys. It was his first time to drive a bus, however. - with Cecile Suerte Felipe