16 more mishaps recorded; bus firm doubts probe results

At least 16 more road accidents were recorded by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) as heavy rains caused by Tropical Storm “Juaning” continued to be felt in Metro Manila Wednesday.

But Jude Trinidad of the MMDA Metrobase said that most of the accidents which took place between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. were minor and due to driver error.

“Some of these cases were amicably settled. There was only one incident where one person was injured. The victim fell from his motorcycle after accidentally passing through a pothole. It was a ‘self-accident,’” he told the Inquirer.

On Tuesday, at least 42 accidents were recorded by the agency’s Metrobase from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino described the figure as unusually high based on the agency’s experience. He said the accidents could have been caused by slippery roads or poor road visibility due to heavy rainfall.

A passenger bus that fell off the Skyway and onto the West Service Road in Parañaque City and a seven-vehicle pileup in the Edsa Ayala tunnel in Makati City were among the accidents reported the other day.

Meanwhile, the lawyer for Dimple Star Transit on Wednesday described as contestable the finding of a police investigation which showed that the company’s bus that fell off the Skyway was speeding.

“What’s their basis? There was no speedometer to measure [the speed of the bus],” Cesar Cainglet said. “Previous reports were confusing. Some reported it was running at 60 kph, others at 80 kph. Those reports are subjective.”

In a phone interview yesterday, Skyway vice president for operations Eduardo Nepomuceno said that based on the footage taken by a closed circuit television camera, the bus was speeding.

According to him, the bus wouldn’t have gone over the railing if it was not running faster than the speed limit of 60 kph.

“At the same time, [the bus] was out of line,” Nepomuceno said. “We found a document [showing] that the bus was not authorized to take a route using the Skyway.”

SPO2 Cid Dumlao, case investigator of the Highway Patrol Group, also told the Inquirer in a phone interview that the bus was running beyond 60 kph. “More or less, it was running beyond 100 kph,” Dumlao said.

Charges were supposed to be filed against the bus driver but because of his death, a civil case would be filed against the bus company instead. With Maricris Irene V. Tamolang