Cash, phones given to families of Mindoro bus crash victims — Palace
Photo provided by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office in Occidental Mindoro shows rescuers and volunteers trying to retrieve trapped passengers from the wreckage of the Dimple Star passenger bus after it careened off a road and fell into a ravine in Sablayan town.
MANILA, Philippines — The kins of those who died in a fatal bus accident in Occidental Mindoro will receive assistance, Malacañang said Saturday.
“Starting Monday, March 26, the families of those who died would directly be receiving P200,000 while those injured will receive P20,000 from the Passenger Accident Management and Insurance Agency,” the Palace said in a statement.
Phones and financial aid worth P10,000 were given to each person injured, the Palace added.
A total of 19 people were killed and 21 others were injured on Tuesday night after a commuter bus operated by Dimple Star tragically crashed into a ravine in a remote village.
President Rodrigo Duterte personally went to the crash site and directed the cancelation of franchise of Dimple Star, whose owner reportedly surrendered to the police.
Duterte also ordered a nationwide crackdown on public transport vehicles operating without franchise, including the arrest of its drivers and operators.
“If you resist arrest and the lives of the police were in danger, my order to them was to kill you,” Duterte remarked.
The deadly accident in Mindoro happened amid the anticipated exodus of travelers this Lenten season.
Inadequately maintained roads and slack regulation on public transportation have been blamed for past road accidents in the Philippines.
“As we expect the heavy movement of people this coming Holy Week, we have been gearing up security and safety preparations. Public safety remains our top priority,” the Palace said.
“Law enforcement and security personnel have monitored no specific threat but we will not put our guard down,” it added.
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