In the wake of a road accident involving a bus and a truck in Gitagum town, Misamis Oriental March 30, the RTMI management maintains that, based on a CCTV footage, the accident was not the fault of its driver. (Photo courtesy of Bombo Radyo CDO)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Bus company Rural Transit (Mindanao) Inc. (RTMI) has maintained that the road crash that claimed the lives of five persons in Gitagum, Misamis Oriental was not its own wrongdoing.
In a press statement dated March 30 but was released to the media Friday afternoon, RTMI said the six-wheeler fish carrier, “from the opposite direction swerved left on a curve road, encroached on our lane, and collided head-on against our bus.”
“This incident has been recorded in the bus’ CCTV where it showed that our driver was not at fault,” the RTMI said.
Maj. Dennis Cerilla, Gitagum Municipal Police Station chief, in interviews said the wing-van truck, fully loaded with fish, left Zamboanga City about 1 p.m. on Wednesday and was supposed to arrive at the fish-landing area in Barangay Bulua, this city, before 5 a.m. the next day.
This collision caused major damage to both vehicles, as well as injuries to five people, including the conductor, who were brought to Iligan City Hospital, Northern Mindanao Medical Center, and Polymedic Hospital for treatments, the company said.
“RTMI would like to extend our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the families of the five deceased, one of which was the driver of our bus, the driver of the six-wheeler truck and the three who are passengers of our bus. The management is making sure that all the needs of the passengers and driver of our bus who were injured and deceased are taken care of while the owner of the six-wheeler fish carrier is being contacted,” it added.
“The management would also like to express our most heartfelt apologies for those who were involved in the incident and to assure everyone that we are doing everything that we can to make sure that this is being handled properly and carefully,” RTMI said.
“Again, we would like to guarantee the riding public that we are taking all the appropriate steps to ensure that your safety and comfort is always our top-most priority,” the company added.
Meanwhile, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-10 (LTFRB-10) has already issued a show-cause order to the RTMI management Friday, March 31.
Aminoden Guro, LTFRB-10 regional director, has confirmed Saturday that they already have issued RTMI the show-cause order.
The order, signed by lawyer Mohamad Fahdel Pimping, LTFRB-10 regional hearing officer, has required the RTMI to appear before the LTFRB-10 office on April 11 to formally present to the agency its own account of the accident.
