By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
The Land Transportation Office (LTO) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) have issued show cause orders (SCOs) to the truck owner and driver on Saturday, April 26, following a road accident in Marikina City that killed three people and injured 10 others on April 23.
Based on the police report, the truck was loaded with a 40-foot container van and was travelling along Fortune Avenue in Marikina City at around 10 p.m. on April 23 when the vehicle suddenly stopped and started moving backward while travelling on the ascending part of the road. The report also stated that the truck lost its brakes.
“It continued in reverse until the trailer chassis and the carried container overturned and crushed (three vehicles). The sudden backward motion triggered a chain-reaction collision involving (two more vehicles),” the police report read.
A jeepney driver and two people aboard a sedan perished in the accident, while 10 others suffered injuries.
According to the LTO, the issuance of an SCO is important in determining the root cause of the accident as it obliges the registered owner and the driver of the trailer truck to explain their side as part of the investigation being conducted by the authorities.
The truck’s driver is already held under police custody, and is tasked with explaining why he should not be punished for reckless driving and being an improper person to operate a motor vehicle—the penalty is revocation of the license.
His license was already suspended, while the truck was placed under alarm.
Meanwhile, the LTFRB has summoned the registered owner of the involved truck, First Forwarders Co. Inc., to explain why its Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) should not be suspended, cancelled, or revoked due to the fatal incident.
A CPC is issued by the LTFRB for owners or operators of trucks and other cargo vehicles registered under the LTO that engage in truck-for-hire operations.
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