Mindoro bus crash enrages Poe

Sen Grace Poe. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Senator Grace Poe was enraged over the fatal bus crash in Occidental Mindoro that claimed the lives of 19 Tuesday night.

“As we express our deepest sympathies to the family of the Mindoro bus crash victims, we are enraged with the loss of lives due to events that could have been prevented,” Poe said in a statement on Wednesday.

The senator said the list of tragic road accidents and their casualties continued to grow because vehicles that are not roadworthy are still allowed to ply the roads.

Poe said it was not the first time a crash happened involving the Dimple Star bus.

“This recent incident reminded us once again about how public transportation in the country can be so dangerous,” she stressed.

Poe has a pending bill creating the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) that would look into transportation-related accidents. She said the NTSB could be the “missing link” in preventing these crashes.

“The missing link in these accident prevention measures is the NTSB. There is a jumble of transport agencies, but there is no ‘go-to agency’ that will be able to unravel and explain major transportation accidents,” she said.

“There is a general pattern to be perceived in each of the accidents, and unless we fail to piece them together, they will occur,” she added.

At least 19 people died while 21 others were hurt after a Dimple Star bus hit a bridge railing and fell into a cliff in Sablayan town, Occidental Mindoro province. /cbb

READ: 19 dead, 21 hurt in Occidental Mindoro bus crash