5 De la Rosa Transit buses involved in Edsa accident grounded

MANILA, Philippines–The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will seize Monday the license plates of five De la Rosa Transit buses after one of them crushed a car in Quezon City last week, leaving the driver  injured.

The move is in line with the 30-day preventive suspension the LTFRB imposed on the bus company following the accident that happened on the northbound lane of Edsa on Thursday morning.

Miraculously, the driver of the Toyota Vios, Marcelino Umalin, escaped with just minor injuries despite the fact that his car was nearly flattened by the Dela Rosa Transit bus driven by Edgardo Lelis.

Lelis, who would be charged with reckless imprudence resulting in multiple injuries and damage to property, claimed that the bus’ brakes failed.

Immediately after the incident, the LTFRB issued an order suspending the five De la Rosa Transit buses plying the Malinta-Novaliches route for 30 days.

The bus company was also directed to bring all the grounded buses to the Motor Vehicle Inspection Service of the Land Transportation Office to determine their road-worthiness while their drivers would undergo a road safety seminar, the LTFRB said in a statement on Friday.

The bus company’s representatives have also been summoned to the LTFRB main office on Feb. 11 to explain why their franchise should not be revoked outright.

“The board will not let these sort of accidents go unpunished. We continue to call on bus operators to keep their drivers in check and to prevent reckless driving to [reduce] accidents, or face the possible revocation of their franchise,” LTFRB Chair Winston Ginez said in a statement.