Bus firm in fatal 2009 Benguet crash penalized

BAGUIO CITY—A La Union-based bus company has lost three buses after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) canceled one of its multiple franchises due to a bus crash in Sablan, Benguet, that killed 42 passengers in August last year.

The LTFRB adopted a recommendation to revoke the franchise issued to the Eso-Nice Transport Corp. by the Cordillera office of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC).

The canceled franchise covers the commercial operation of four Eso-Nice buses, including the one that fell into a ravine in Barangay Banangan in Sablan on Aug. 18, 2010, due to mechanical failure, said Brenda Poklay, DOTC Cordillera legal officer.

The ruling, issued on June 22 and sent to the DOTC Cordillera office on July 27, noted Cordillera officials’ findings that Eso-Nice had failed to prove that the bus involved in the accident was roadworthy when the accident occurred.

Poklay said the Cordillera office had asked the National Bureau of Investigation to authenticate a certificate of roadworthiness issued to the bus because Joel Donato, chief of the National Motor Vehicle Inspection Center (NMVIC), had denied issuing one to Eso-Nice.

Citing the DOTC Cordillera report, LTFRB also said the maintenance of the unit “was greatly compromised” because it was sold to Arsenio Monis, which suggested that its “possession and maintenance” became his responsibility, and not the firm’s.

LTFRB also fined Eso-Nice P6,000 for two first offenses of DOTC reporting requirements.

For about a year, the accident had affected Eso-Nice’s operations, said Edward Lacsamana, the general manager of the firm based in San Fernando City. He said business had been slow.

The bus firm is still addressing civil suits filed by some relatives of passengers who died in the accident, he said.

But the firm has asked the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) to provide its drivers with refresher courses in defensive driving, he said.

Lacsamana said the firm’s drivers undergo mandatory psychiatric examination and drug tests.

Celina Claver, DOTC Cordillera director, said Eso-Nice should remove the buses covered by the canceled franchise from its fleet.

Poklay said buses without franchises are usually sold or are traded in among provincial bus companies after their engines are overhauled.

Government authorizes accredited automotive firms to build new chassis (body frames) for old buses and public utility jeeps and overhaul their engines, Poklay said.

The buses’ fate, however, lies in the NMVIC, which determines whether a vehicle can ply public streets.

Should a newly repaired and refurbished bus pass this process, it would be considered a new vehicle by the LTFRB system, Poklay said.

But Claver said the current condition of buses covered by canceled Eso-Nice franchise would not pass the NMVIC’s requirements. Vincent Cabreza and Charles Keith, Inquirer Northern Luzon