MANILA — The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has ordered the preventive suspension of a bus firm that figured in a Christmas Day road accident in Agoo, La Union for its failure to submit footages of the incident from its dashboard camera (dash cam).
The 30-day suspension covers seven bus units of Partas Transportation with routes covering Manila to Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.
The bus firm failed to comply with the directive of the LTFRB to submit dash cam footages that are vital in determining who is responsible for the accident. Instead, Partas submitted footages inside the bus from its CCTV camera during the incident.
“The violation of Partas why it is being issued a preventive suspension order (PSO) is their failure to comply with the directive of the board considering 36 hours have passed since the road crash and the deadline was 12 p.m. today to submit footage from the dashcam. What Partas management submitted is the CCTV footage inside the bus. That will not help us resolve the road crash. What we need is the footage from the dashcam which is very crucial for the investigation being conducted by the board,” LTFRB board member Aileen Lizada said in a text message to reporters Tuesday.
The PSO will be served to Partas tomorrow and will be effective upon receipt of the order.
The accident happened when a private jeepney collided with a Partas bus at around 3:30 a.m. along the national highway in Agoo, La Union.
Initial investigation from the police showed that the jeepney which is heading to the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaog at Manaoag town in Pangasinan overtook another vehicle when it collided with the northbound bus.
Of the private jeepney’s 29 passengers, 19 instantly killed, including the driver, while the 20th casualty died while undergoing treatment at a hospital.
On the other hand, the 15 bus passengers and conductor suffered minor injuries.
Partas has a total of 29 franchises with 187 units l, based on data from the LTFRB. (PNA)
