LTFRB suspends bus firm

MANILA, Philippines – The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) suspended a bus firm yesterday after one of its buses figured in an accident that left a waitress dead and 41 others injured in Sariaya, Quezon Saturday.

The board has agreed to issue a 30-day suspension order against 10 units of Raymond Bus and ordered the firm to surrender the vehicles’ license plates by tomorrow, LTFRB member Ariel Inton said.

The LTFRB also ordered the firm to explain why its license should not be revoked.

The board also ordered the bus firm’s drivers to undergo drug testing at Department of Health-authorized testing centers.

Before dawn Saturday, one of the firm’s buses was on its way back to Manila from Camarines Sur when it plowed into the Kabayan restaurant in Sariaya town.

Waitress Jessica Estimo died at the scene while 41 others were taken to the hospital.

Former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino, who is gunning for a Senate seat, said the bus firm should shoulder the victims’ expenses.

He also asked if the driver was sleepy when the accident happened and why he did not have a partner to relieve him during the long drive.

He said bus firms should only be able to hold on to their franchises if they pass weekly safety checks. These checks should be done every day during peak travel periods, he said.