LTFRB: Tourist bus in Benguet mishap had no franchise

MANILA, Philippines - The tourist bus that was involved in the accident in Benguet late Thursday that left seven people dead had no franchise to operate, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said yesterday.

LTFRB spokesperson Jocelyn Reyes said the tourist bus (AFB-769) was on a “colorum” operation.

“Based on a check, the bus had no franchise and so we still don’t have jurisdiction over it,” Reyes said.

She said the operator had a pending application for a franchise but it was only filed recently.

“The application is still pending. The tourist bus should not have been conveying passengers without franchise from the LTFRB,” Reyes said.

Seven people, two of them students, died and 32 others were injured when their tourist bus crashed into a delivery truck along Marcos Highway.

Initial reports said the tourist bus went out of control as it negotiated a curve along the Marcos Highway at Sitio Bontiway and rammed the Baguio-bound 18-wheeler truck (WPG 581) coming from the opposite direction.

Most of the victims were passengers of the tourist bus, students and teachers from Marinduque State College who had just come from a field trip in Baguio City.

Because of the accident, Reyes said the LTFRB would have to dismiss outright the franchise application of the bus.

“It would be based on the discovery that the bus was operating without the release of the franchise the operator is applying for,” she said.

And if the bus had been operating with a franchise, Reyes said the LTFRB would have to issue a preventive suspension on the operation pending an investigation.