MANILA, Philippines – The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has summoned the operator of the bus that plunged into a cliff in Benguet to appear before a hearing in Baguio on Monday.

“Sa Monday, may hearing sa LTFRB-CAR [Cordillera Administrative Region] sa Baguio at ipinatawag ko yung operator to explain why yung prangkisa niya ay hindi ika-cancel because of this accident,” said LTFRB officer-in-charge Dante Lantin.

On Thursday, the LTFRB slapped a 30-day suspension against the Eso-Nice Bus after one of its units fell off a 150-feet cliff that resulted to the death of 42 people.

The tragedy happened on Wednesday morning along Barangay Amba-cuag, Banangan, Sablan.

According to Lantin, the insurance company of the bus informed him that 2 checks have been prepared for the victims of the accident.

“Yung UNITRANS, ito po yung insurance consortium na nag-cover ng unit. Ang text sa aking kagabi ng manager nila may dalawang cheke nang na-prepare. Ito ay partial pa lamang na ibibigay sa mga legitimate na kamaganak ng biktima and they're preparing the other checks,” said Lantin.

Lantin said each survivor will get P12,500 from the insurance while relatives of those who died in the accident will receive P60,000 each.

“Over and above these figures, ang operator po ang kakargo,” explained Lantin.

Lantin said the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) has give instructions to both the LTFRB and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to take proactive actions to address problems.

“May instructions si secretary sa amin dahil sabi niya nakakasawang pakinggan kapag may ganitong mga aksidente ang sasabihin na lamang ‘we will look into this’, ‘we will investigate’. Ang gusto niya ay more lasting solutions to address the recurrence of this problem in the future,” he said.

He said the DOTC has given both agencies 15 days to review the stricter inspection of road worthiness of a unit; stricter testing of drivers before they are issued licenses, and to thoroughly look for weak points in the franchise system.

“Halimbawa sa financial capacity ng applicant. Siguraduhin na bago mabigyan ng prangkisa, ang applicant ay financially capable na sagutin ang mga gastusin tulad nang may mga aksidente at siguraduhin din na yung mga operators mayroon silang preventive maintenance program para sa kanilang behikulo upang sa ganun hindi porke nakapasa sa road worthiness ng LTO, which is only given once a year, ay pwede na silang tumakbo without any inspection,” he said.

They were also tasked to require operators to give road safety training programs to their drivers. – With radio dzMM