BONTOC, Mountain Province -- The driver of
the GV Florida Transport Inc. bus involved in the recent accident which claimed
the lives of at least 14 passengers here was arraigned Friday even as the bus
firm sought settlement with the victims.
Senior Supt. Oliver
Enmodias, Mt. Province police director, said Edgar Renon, driver of the bus
that plunged into a ravine last Feb. 7, was arraigned before the Bontoc
regional trial court on charges of reckless imprudence resulting to multiple
homicide and serious physical injuries.
At least 31 people on
board the Sagada-bound passenger bus also sustained serious injuries, with at
least five of them reportedly still confined in hospitals in Bontoc, Baguio
City and Metro Manila.
Renon has been
detained since Feb. 14 or a week after he was discharged from the Bontoc
General Hospital where he was confined for injuries he sustained in the
accident.
Reports said Renon,
who earlier had expressed remorse for the mishap, was having a hard time
raising the P80,000 bail for his temporary liberty.
“He has no money to
post the required bail,” Enmodias said.
The fatalities in the
Bontoc mishap included comedian Arvin “Tado” Jimenez and Katrina Gozos, a
graduating college student from Lipa City, Batangas.
Jimenez’s widow Lei
had her head shaved Wednesday morning in front of the Florida Transport
terminal in Sampaloc, Manila to protest what she alleged was the insufficient
attention the bus firm was giving to the victims.
She also scored the
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) for its alleged
negligence in ensuring that bus companies comply with road safety regulations
to prevent road accidents.
The LTFRB is holding a
hearing at the accident site in Bontoc on Feb. 28, which Renon is expected to
attend.
LTFRB chairman Winston
Ginez announced this during the board’s first hearing on the accident
Wednesday, during which he told GV Florida lawyer Alex Versoza to explain in
writing his admission that the ill-fated bus actually belonged to Dagupan Bus
Co. Inc.
The bus was supposedly
a private unit that was repainted by GV Florida and used the license plate
belonging to a bus of another company, Mt. Province Cable Tours, whose
franchises were earlier bought by GV Florida without the board’s
approval.
The discovery was made
after a check of the chassis and engine number of the ill-fated bus revealed
that these belonged to Dagupan Bus Co.
The LTFRB Wednesday
handed over checks each worth P150,000 to the victims’ families.
This was a special
arrangement since the bus was technically a “colorum” vehicle, or operating
illegally, and thus could not be recognized by the bus firm’s insurance
provider.
The amount was raised
by GV Florida and a number of insurance providers.
Jimenez’s widow was
present during the hearing but was not able to claim the check.
Ginez said Mrs.
Jimenez asked that a representative claim the check for her, but the
representative needed a special power of attorney to claim it and would just
come back once the document is available.
This, as management of
the Cagayan Valley-based GV Florida Bus
Lines has reportedly
reached a settlement with some of those injured in the mishap. Enmodias, Mt.
Province police director, said the bus firm’s representative, former police
colonel Rudy Villano, has reached an agreement with the recuperating victims.
At least 31 passengers
were injured in the mishap.
Part of the amicable
settlement, according to reports, included medicine and hospitalization
expenses of those injured who are still recuperating in various hospitals in
the Cordillera and Metro Manila.
Enmodias, however,
expressed doubt whether the families of those who died when the GV Florida bus
plunged into a ravine, would settle with the company.
The family of the
comedian Arvin “Tado” Jimenez, one of the 14 fatalities, reportedly vowed to
pursue criminal and civil actions against the bus firm.
Ghads Rodelias, a
friend of victim Katrina Gozos, a graduating college student from Lipa City,
Batangas, said he doubts if the Gozos family would give in to a settlement.
Meanwhile, the Department
of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is readying emergency assistance for the more
than 600 displaced workers of GV Florida, whose operations were suspended for
30 days.
Lawyer Erwin Aquino,
DOLE mediator and arbiter for Cagayan Valley, said their office would extend
assistance to the workers, mostly drivers and conductors, whose livelihood have
been affected due to the suspension imposed by the LTFRB.
“We are still
discussing what forms of assistance we would extend. It may be in the form of
livelihood or soft loans or temporary employment. Our regional director is now
coordinating with our national office about it,” he said.
Aquino said they are
also considering long-term assistance to the workers in case the LTFRB would
extend its suspension order or revoke the franchise of GV Florida.
GV Florida’s 288
buses, whose operations practically cover the entire Northern Luzon, have been
grounded since Feb. 8 or a day after the Bontoc mishap.
Malacañang on
Wednesday reassured the victims’ families that they would still get insurance
benefits from GV Florida even if the ill-fated bus was found to be a “colorum”
or operating illegally.
Presidential
Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said LTFRB
Chairman Winston Ginez was discussing the matter with the GV Florida
management.
In a statement,
Virgilio Florida Jr., president of GV Florida Transport Inc.,had conveyed their
sympathies to the families of the 14 passengers who were killed when their
Sagada-bound bus fell into THE 120-meter ravine.
Meanwhile, Rey Luis,
the company’s contact person in Baguio City, said as of Monday, four of the
injured passengers remained in a hospital in Baguio while another one was still
recuperating at the Bontoc General Hospital.
Luis said the family
of one of the fatalities from Mt. Province entered into a settlement with the
company last Feb. 14.
Contrary to earlier
reports, the company, Florida said, has been and continues to be in touch with
the victims’ families, assuring them of the company’s commitment to fulfill
“its moral and financial responsibility.”
In fact, Florida said
they had released and transmitted funds to cover transport and hospitalization
of the injured passengers as well as burial expenses for most of the
fatalities.
Florida said they also
respect the 30-day suspension of operations imposed on the company a day after
the mishap by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
The board is now
investigating the bus firm after its unit involved in the accident was found to
be “colorum” or operating illegally.
Florida said the
company is also conducting its own inquiry into the incident “in line with our
corporate credo and guidelines on the competence and efficiency of our crew and
the safety of our passengers.”
The livelihood of GV
Florida’s more than 500 employees, mostly drivers and conductors, have been
affected after the LTFRB grounded the firm’s 288 buses, whose routes
practically covered the entire Northern Luzon.