CERES BUS UNITS SUSPENDED AFTER FATAL BUS FALL IN ANTIQUE

THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Wednesday suspended for 90-days the operation of Ceres bus units after one of its buses plunged into a ravine in Hamtic, Antique on Tuesday that killed several passengers, including the driver.

LTFRB chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III ordered the suspension of all the bus units of the Ceres bus plying in the area.

He also directed the immediate investigation into the accident.

“We already issued a 90-day preventive suspension to the entire fleet, meaning to say ‘yung mga bus na nagbabiyahe ng rutang ‘yon, there are 15 of them, have already issued a preventive suspension right away,” Guadiz said.

“Ang roadworthiness ay done during the registration but it is incumbent upon the bus company na every time babiyahe ‘yan, sisiguraduhin nila na maayos yung kanilang mga bus. So that’s what I will be looking into, titingnan namin yung ledgers sa terminal kung ano yung condition bago ito umalis, and of course, we will look also into the condition of the driver, ” he added.

He said the LTFRB also started conducting a site inspection and has been coordinating with the insurance company to compensate the victims.

An inter-agency team composed of the LTFRB, the Land Transportation Office and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) are already conducting an investigation.

At 4 p.m. on Tuesday, a Ceres bus bound for Antique from Iloilo City fell into a ravine in Bgy. Igbucagay, Hamtic town.

Seventeen were confirmed dead, including the bus driver and his conductor, while several other passengers are in serious condition at the hospital.

According to Denise Suropia of the Antique Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), the bus overshot the permanent concrete barrier in the zigzag mountainous area of the barangay.

“As for the initial report we received, there were 53 passengers on board the Ceres supposedly headed to the northern part of Antique,” she added.