Seven buses of Partas Bus, which share the same transport franchise, will remain suspended for 30 days until the company can provide the dashcam footage and GPS tracking data of the bus involved in the tragic collision, the LTFRB said in a statement.
Partas failed to beat a noon deadline Tuesday to submit the video and data of the erring bus. It instead submitted CCTV footage of the bus’s interiors, LTFRB board member lawyer Aileen Lizada said.
The fatalities were pilgrims traveling to attend a Christmas Dawn Mass in Manaoag, Pangasinan before their jeep crashed into the Partas bus in Agoo, 200 kilometers north of Manila.
“The violation of Partas is for the failure to comply with the directive of the board, considering 36 hours have passed since the road crash,” Lizada said.
The dashcam footage, she noted, “is very crucial to the investigation being conducted by the board.”
“What Partas management submitted was the footage of the CCTV inside the bus. That will not help us resolve the road crash. What we need is the footage from the dash cam,” the lawyer added.
The LTFRB suspension covers Partas' Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte to Sampaloc, Manila route, and will be effective starting Wednesday, Dec. 27. The company’s seven units under suspension were only part of the total 29 franchises covering 187 buses of Partas, Lizada explained.
Partas management, the transport official said, said they have yet to recover the dashcam footage and are still enlisting an IT expert’s help to open the file.
Lizada said the LTFRB still has the final say on how long beyond the stated 30 days Partas’ preventive suspension will last.
“The preventive suspension order will be served tomorrow, and it will be effective immediately upon receipt by Partas. When they will submit the dash cam footage, it will be upon the decision of the board. It is a collegial decision as to when to lift the PSO,” she said.
Lizada reminded passengers and operators of public utility vehicles to follow traffic rules and never rush to their destination, despite the holiday season. She also urged passengers of PUVs to take a photo of the vehicle's license plate and report to the LTFRB in case a driver does not heed their advice.
“Accidents like this happen only for two reasons, the driver is in a hurry or the passenger pressures the driver to meet a schedule,” Lizada said.
“In this fast-paced season of holiday shopping, outing and family reunions LTFRB would like to address this message, not only to the drivers, but also to the passengers of private or hired vehicles, do not rush your drivers. In fact, constantly remind them to follow traffic rules and observe speed limits,” she added.