The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board has issued a preventive suspension order against bus firm Elavil Tours Phils Inc. after one of its buses was involved in a road accident in Quezon province.
The board also directed the bus company to explain why its certificate of public convenience should not be suspended or revoked after an Elavil bus bound for Manila crashed into the roadside metal railing along a highway in Tagkawayan, Quezon at about 12:30 a.m. Friday, leaving 20 passengers injured.
“The agency will await [a] written answer from Elavil Tours Phils, Inc. to explain why its certificate of public convenience should not be suspended, canceled and/or revoked for violation of the terms and conditions of its franchise,” the LTFRB said in a statement.
The board likewise ordered Elavil to surrender to its legal division by May 24 all the “For Hire” plates of 10 Elavil buses, as well as their GPS recordings, the video clips from their dashcams, and CCTVs.
“All authorized traffic enforcement agencies are ordered to apprehend and impound vehicles of Elavil Tours Phils, Inc. under the said case number (2007-1991ST), if found operating,” the LTFRB said.
The operator and driver of the bus involved in the accident have been summoned to appear in a hearing set at the LTFRB central office in Quezon City on May 29.
A report from the Quezon provincial police said that an Elavil bus with 70 passengers, driven by a certain Allan Robles, crashed into the railings while traversing a descending curved section of the highway.
The overloaded bus was allegedly speeding. The bus driver escaped after the incident.
The injured were rushed to the Ma. Lourdes Eleazar Memorial District Hospital at the town center.
The LTFRB recently suspended AMV Travel and Tours after one of its buses figured in an accident in Atimonan, Quezon, which left three people dead and 68 others injured last May 6.
The bus, which was headed for Bicol, collided with a truck bound for Manila in Barangay Sta. Catalina.