Florida bus driver in Bontoc crash granted bail

Police and rescuers retrieve bodies of passengers after a bus veered off a mountain road in Bontoc town, Mountain Province, Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—A court granted temporary freedom to the driver of the G.V. Florida bus that fell off a ravine in Bontoc, Mountain Province and killed 15 people, according to a radio report.

The report quoted G.V. Florida’s legal counsel Alex Versoza as saying the bus firm posted a P50,000 bail before the Bontoc Municipal Trial Court for the release of driver Edgar Renon.

Versoza said the court allowed to lower the bail from P80,000 to P50,000.

Renon, who survived the accident, was detained at the Mountain Province District Jail for reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and serious physical injuries due to the accident, the report said.

The bus fell off the ravine and broke in two in the crash on February 7, killing nine people on the spot.

Among the fatalities were comedian Arvin “Tado” Jimenez, a female Dutch tourist and a male Canadian tourist. Six other passengers died while being treated in various hospitals.

Two children survived unscathed, but their father, a musician, died, while their mother remained in hospital care.

Officials said the bus may have had loose brakes and burst tires before it lost control and skidded off the road.