Brake failure blamed for Benguet two-bus crash
LOCAL authorities assist emergency teams as they respond to a bus collision along Marcos Highway in Tuba, Benguet. Reports disclosed that at least 67 passengers were injured and were transported to nearby hospitals.
PHOTOGRAPH courtesy of Philippine red cross photo
TUBA, Benguet — A brake failure triggered a two-bus collision on Marcos Highway in Benguet province Saturday night, leaving dozens of passengers injured and prompting a regulatory review, officials said.
Reports said that the incident occurred at approximately 8:35 p.m. on 30 May in Barangay Taloy Sur, Tuba, adding that a passenger bus traveling from Baguio City lost its brakes and struck another passenger bus heading toward the city. Both vehicles belong to the same transportation company.
The impact caused one of the buses to tilt and flip onto its side, while the second bus sustained severe scraping and impact damage.
A massive rescue operation drew emergency responders from multiple jurisdictions, including the municipal disaster risk reduction and management offices of Tuba, La Trinidad and Pugo, as well as the Baguio City disaster management office.
Units from the Philippine Red Cross, the Bureau of Fire Protection, local police, and various volunteer groups assisted in rescuing passengers and clearing the highway.
Discrepancies remain regarding the exact number of casualties as authorities finalize their accounting, but reports indicate between 67 and 95 people sought medical treatment across three hospitals.
According to retired Brig. Gen. Glenn Dumlao, regional director of the Department of Transportation in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DoTr-CAR), initial police tallies showed 77 injured passengers were taken to the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center.
Additionally, 16 victims were rushed to the La Union Medical Center in Agoo, La Union, where 15 have since been discharged and one remains confined. Two other victims were treated at the Benguet General Hospital, where one remains admitted.
The DoTr-CAR is awaiting the final results of the police investigation before pursuing further action against the transport operator.
Dumlao said his agency will issue a show-cause order to the operator, noting that the formal authority to penalize or suspend franchises rests with the central office of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing.