Florida bus: Help is under way

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines—Owners of the GV Florida bus involved in the Feb. 7 crash in Bontoc town in Mountain Province vowed to continue extending help to the victims and their families, as they expressed their sorrow and apologized to the aggrieved.

Virgilio Florida Jr., vice president of the GV Florida Transport Inc., said the company has been attending to the needs of the victims, contrary to criticism that they were evading responsibility for the crash that left 14 passengers killed and 32 others injured.

“We have taken care of the funeral expenses of those who died—at least for those whose cases we handled from the start. We also continue to shoulder hospital expenses of those injured,” Florida said in a telephone interview on Sunday.

On Feb. 7 at 7:20 a.m., a GV Florida bus fell into a ravine in Barangay (village) Talubin in Bontoc.

Among the 14 people killed were comedian Arvin “Tado” Jimenez, two foreign tourists and a group of musicians and artists.

On Friday, GV Florida issued a statement assuring the families of the victims that the company was taking full moral and financial responsibility for the “unfortunate accident.”

It took some time before company personnel were able to identify the passengers, trace their whereabouts and determine what kind of assistance they needed.—Melvin Gascon