Second District Board Member Tomas Abapo, Jr. will push for an investigation on the spate of road mishaps involving the Southern Star Bus Transit, Inc. (SBTI), which has drawn heavy flak from the public over the incidents.
Based on records, the SBTI has been involved in at least six road incidents since May including one which led to the death of a 68-year-old man.
“Kadtong mga tulis, partially solved na kay diha na may nadakpan. Ang wa pa masulbad hantod karon kining mga insidente na nag involve sa Ceres Liner [SBTI]. Public knowledge mani na sila na figure sa daghang pangahitabo labina karong pila ka adlaw,” said Abapo.
The returning first-term lawmaker, who chairs the Sangguniang Panlalawigan’s (SP) Peace and Order and Public Safety Committee, said the series of road incidents has caused alarm among the public.
“Any peace-loving citizen maalarma gyud nga daghan kaayo ang nahitabo…kon usa lang or duha, pero kung daghan na maybe something is wrong,” said Abapo.
According to Abapo, he will refer the issue to the SP’s Committee on Public Utility and Franchise for the conduct of a probe in aid of legislation.
“Gusto ta mahibaw og ngano ni kay basin baya og naay mga remedial measures ani na mahimo,” said Abapo.
The probe is intended to find out the reason behind the series off road incidents and help come up with measures to prevent these from happening again.
He added that SBTI should also convey to the SP the steps it has taken to prevent other road mishaps.
Abapo wishes for the probe to start “as soon as possible.”
“Maayo unta og ma take up nana sa committee kay kada adlaw ra ba gadagan ang maong sakyanan,” said Abapo.
Just last week, two SSBTI buses figured in road accidents.
In Cortes, 68-year-old Norbert Lumanas died after he was hit by an open door of a moving SSBTI bus along a national highway.
Two days later, another SSBTI bus headed towards Tagbilaran City overshot the road and partially fell into a roadside canal in Loboc town.
A similar incident also happened early in July in Bilar town. No one was injured during both incident.
In June, SSBTI drew heavy criticisms from netizens after one of its buses was caught on video in a now-viral post as it went wayward along a national highway in Loboc town.
No one was injured during the incident but passengers who were heard screaming as the bus went zigzagged along the highway alleged that the driver was under the influence of Alcohol.
In May, at least a dozen individuals on board an SSBTI bus landed in the hospital after the vehicle overturned along a national road in Loboc.
Authorities had noted that the vehicle nearly fell into a ravine which would have caused more serious injuries to the passengers.
In the past years, there have been several noted road incidents involving the SSBTI which led to deaths and injuries. (AD)