Story updated to include statement of LTFRB Spokesperson Aileen Lizada.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 25) — An early morning road crash on Christmas Day in the town of Agoo, La Union left 20 dead and 26 injured.
Agoo deputy police chief Senior Insp. Eugenio Balagot told CNN Philippines on Monday that a private jeepney carrying 29 passengers and a Partas bus carrying 31 passengers collided head-on at 3:30 a.m. on MacArthur Highway.
Initial investigation showed that the southbound jeepney was overtaking another vehicle when it hit the northbound bus.
“Yung bangaan po, nangyari sa linya ng Partas,” Balagot said. “Although nag-preno yung Partas, inabot pa rin.”
[Translation: The crash happened in the lane of the Partas bus. Although the Partas driver hit the brakes, he couldn’t stop in time.]
Balagot said the jeepney, which was driven by 34-year-old Rolando Perez Jr., may have been speeding at the time of the crash.
He added that the road was well-lit and that neither of the vehicles was overloaded.
All the fatalities were from the jeepney and were brought to the La Union Medical Center in Agoo. These include Perez and four minors — a 5-month-old baby, a Grade 1 student and two teenagers.
Balagot said they are still identifying the other victims.
Balagot also said 19 of the jeepney’s passengers were related and were on their way to hear mass at Manaoag Church, some 40 kilometers south of the crash site.
Meanwhile, the nine injured jeepney passengers and the 17 injured bus passengers were brought to the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center in San Fernando City, some 45 kilometers north.
Balagot said most of the bus passengers were released quickly because they only had minor injuries.
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Spokesperson Aileen Lizada said on Monday that third-party liability insurance, amounting to P100,000, will cover the jeepney’s passengers.
Lizada added that the LTFRB has not yet imposed sanctions on Partas.
“We will be issuing a show-cause order, hearing to be set Jan. 3,” she said. “LTFRB will try to talk to Partas and see what Partas can do para dun sa mga ibang pasahero ng jeepney. Pero walang obligation ang Partas dapat dito.”
[Translation: LTFRB will try to talk to Partas to see what Partas can do for the other passengers in the jeepney. But Partas should not have any obligation here.]
Lizada said Partas will offer financial assistance to those who died in the crash.
“In the spirit of Christmas, Partas management will be extending financial assistance to, initially, for those who died dun sa [in the] jeepney, all 20 of them, a minimum of P15,000 to the members of the families,” she said. “For those injured, they will be assessing.”
However, Balagot said the bus’s driver, 43-year-old Rodel Sadac, faces charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide.
