MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications on Tuesday said it is reviewing its process of issuing roadworthiness certificates to public utility buses following a series of bus accidents in the country.

In an interview, DoTC Secretary Jose de Jesus said the department will clamp down on erring officials that have been negligent in inspecting passenger buses to ensure that they are roadworthy.

“We will look at the system to make sure there is no negligence on the part of our own people in inspecting the vehicles, especially the passenger buses,” de Jesus told radio dzMM.

The country saw several bus accidents in the last few weeks, the latest of which involved a Cul transport passenger bus that fell of a cliff in Pagbilao, Quezon Sunday. The accidents have been blamed on ill-maintained passenger buses and indifferent bus drivers.

There have been unverified reports that some officials and employees of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) offices in the country have been colluding with vehicle owners on the issuance of roadworthiness certificates.

In fact, officials are now looking into reports that the Eso-Nice bus that plunged into a cliff in Benguet 2 weeks ago was using a fake roadworthiness certificate. The LTO central office had already denied it issued a certificate to Eso-Nice.

“Before, an investigation automatically focuses on the bus owners in cases of accidents. This time, we also have to investigate the people responsible for registering a roadworthy bus,” de Jesus noted.

Additional requirements

The DoTC is also mulling plans of requiring bus companies to have maintenance facilities and qualified mechanics before they could obtain their franchises.

“It’s their responsibility (bus owners). Before the buses go out of the garage, they should have already been inspected. They have to do this on a daily basis,” he said.

He said DoTC will have to develop standards for compliance of this requirement.

“Since we don’t have the necessary expertise to do that, we will be seeking the help of the automotive associations and large bus companies well equipped to help us put together maintenance standards that we will be following,” he said.

He said the government can only do so much in terms of checking buses’ roadworthiness.“The government can only do this at the time of registration...Then we will do a random check on these buses to make sure they have these facilities,” he said.

De Jesus also said the DoTC is reviewing the required number of hours that a bus driver should be on the road since it could affect his performance. "Maybe we have to impose a limited number of hours," he said.