Bus firm loses franchise for death of 21

Bodies of passengers are covered in newspapers as they are laid down on the road after a passenger bus plunged from an elevated highway known as Skyway Monday, Dec. 16, 2013, in suburban Paranaque southeast of Manila, Philippines. Officials said at least 21 people died, mostly passengers, and more than 20 others were injured in the accident. AP

The government imposed the “heaviest penalty” and cancelled the franchise of a 20-year-old bus company over the Dec. 16, 2013, highway accident that killed 21 people and injured 24 others in Taguig City.

But while the order effectively crippled the operations of Don Mariano Transit Corp., the police have all but conceded that nobody among the company officials could be held criminally liable.

A lawyer for the bus firm also disclosed that 21 of the families affected by the tragedy had agreed to a settlement and that talks were going on with several others.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Tuesday stripped Don Mariano of seven franchises covering its entire fleet of 78 buses, after a month-long investigation into the incident.

It was the biggest franchise revocation involving a single transport company in the 27-year history of the board, which was often perceived to be too soft on big-time operators.

In a press briefing, LTFRB Chair Winston Ginez said Don Mariano’s seven certificates of public convenience (CPCs) had been cancelled, revoked and returned to the state.  Upon finality of the decision, the license plates of its buses would also be destroyed, he said.

‘New sheriff in town’

“There is a new sheriff in town who will strictly implement public land transportation laws,” Ginez told reporters.

Don Mariano could still file an appeal within 15 days and would likely take this option, according to the company’s legal counsel, Jason Cantil.

The management of the Novaliches-based company, headed by Melissa Lim and other members of the Lim family, did not return calls when the Inquirer tried to reach them for comment.

Around 5 a.m. on Dec. 16, a Don Mariano passenger bus driven by Carmelo Calatcat fell off the elevated Skway and crashed onto a closed van below. The company’s entire fleet was placed under preventive suspension immediately after the incident.

It would be difficult for a company to restart operations after its license is revoked since, according to Ginez, the LTFRB has a standing moratorium on the issuance of new licenses.

Ginez said the board looked into the company’s checkered safety record, which included a 2012 accident that killed a motorcycle driver on the northbound lane of Magallanes flyover.

Don Mariano was then penalized with a 60-day suspension, the official recalled.

The probe also found that Don Mariano allowed the illegal use or change of chassis on its buses without informing the LTFRB, “a clear misrepresentation which this board can never tolerate,” Ginez added.

Lack of diligence

“With all the evidence submitted and gathered, there is no doubt that respondent Don Mariano has repeatedly failed to comply with the terms and conditions of the certificates of public convenience granted to it,” he stressed.

Ginez noted that Don Mariano not only failed to be diligent in choosing its drivers and undertaking remedial actions after the previous accidents but also failed to provide services that were “safe, proper and adequate.”

While saying “we respect the decision,” Cantil argued that only one franchise— covering the ill-fated bus and 20 others, or about a quarter of the Don Mariano fleet—should be affected by the order.

21st fatality

Ginez, however, disagreed: “Considering the number of accidents (involving the respondent’s buses) in the past, this board has every right to look into all the units covered by all the CPCs granted to it.”

Cantil said Don Mariano was in continuing talks with the families of those killed or injured in the accident, with 21 of them already agreeing to a settlement.

Eighteen people died on the day of the accident. On Jan. 8, the number of fatalities rose to 21 with the death of passenger Rebecca Tolentino of Sta. Rosa, Laguna province, police said.

Tolentino was initially “doing well” at Parañaque Doctors Hospital but suffered complications due to pneumonia, according to SPO2 Isidra Dumlao, the case investigator from the Highway Patrol Group (HPG). “After undergoing two surgeries, her body may have been unable to handle the strain,” the officer said.

The HPG had filed complaints of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and injuries against the bus driver, Calatcat, and a civil case against Don Mariano management. Calatcat died of injuries on Dec. 23.

Dumlao said the arraignment for the case was set for Feb. 6 at Parañaque Metropolitan Trial Court–Branch 89, but with Calatcat now gone “we’re not sure how the court will decide. We’ll have to see.”

Despite the bereaved families’ clamor for a criminal complaint to be lodged against the owners of Don Mariano, another HPG case investigator, PO3 Jose Villanueva, said this may not be possible since “they had no active participation in the crime. There’s no evidence they planned the accident.”

“Their only hope is the remaining civil case against Don Mariano,” Villanueva said.