PNP impounds 44 Dimple Star buses

MANILA, Philippines — More than 40 buses of Dimple Star were impounded by the police in Oriental and Occidental Mindoro provinces, an official said yesterday.

Supt. Imelda Tolentino, spokesperson of the Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan (Mimaropa) police, said a total of 44 buses were placed under police custody as of yesterday.

Mimaropa regional police director Chief Supt. Emmanuel Licup had ordered the impoundment of all commuter buses of Dimple Star catering to passengers bound for Occidental Mindoro and Iloilo City via Roxas Pier in Oriental Mindoro.

Twenty-two buses were placed at the Occidental Mindoro Police Provincial Office in San Jose while the other 22 were impounded at the grandstand of the police regional headquarters in Calapan City.

Passengers of Dimple Star were transferred to commuter vans.

Nineteen people were killed and 21 others injured after a Dimple Star bus fell into a ravine in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro last Tuesday. Based on the results of an initial investigation by the police, the brakes of the bus had malfunctioned.

The bus was also dilapidated and not roadworthy, according to the police.

Meanwhile, the bus firm’s owner is no longer in police custody. Hilbert Napat, 54, left the Philippine National Police  Criminal Investigation and Investigation and Detection Group (PNP CIDG)  in Camp Crame, Quezon City  at 10:30 p.m. last Friday, nearly three hours after he surrendered following President Duterte’s order to have him arrested.

A police official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the CIDG has no legal basis to detain Napat.

“No cases have been filed against him,” the official said yesterday in a text message.

The source said Napat promised to return with documents that could aid in the investigation.

Napat was accompanied by his wife Nilda and their lawyer Samuel Turgano. He told reporters his voluntary surrender showed his sincerity and willingness to cooperate with the investigation of the accident.

He condoled with the families of the 19 fatalities and said the company was ready to provide financial assistance not only to the bereaved relatives of the dead but also those who were injured.

“I’m ready to accept what he has been saying but we are ready to support the needs of the victims,” answered Napat when asked about Duterte’s arrest order.

As this developed, the Insurance Commission (IC) called on the Passenger Accident Management and Insurance Agency (PAMI) to ensure the immediate payout of claims to the victims.

In a statement, Insurance commissioner Dennis Funa said the IC is coordinating with the PAMI to expedite the processing of insurance proceeds, so that victims and their beneficiaries would get their claims immediately.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragedy, and we shall ensure that the victims and their respective families shall be afforded immediate assistance through the mandatory insurance for drivers and passengers,” Funa said.

PAMI, whose lead insurer is UCPB General Insurance Co., is one of the two insurance management companies authorized by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to provide mandatory insurance for passengers of public utility vehicles under the Passenger Personal Accident Insurance (PPAI) Program.

The PPAI program was implemented in compliance with the Insurance Code, which requires public utility vehicles to procure insurance coverage for their passengers, including the driver.

This mandatory insurance coverage provides for accidental death benefits and bodily injury benefits, and is on top of the Compulsory Third Party Liability insurance.

Under the Enhanced PPAIP, the maximum amount of death benefit is P200,000 for each passenger (from the previous P150,000) while the amount of benefits for bodily injuries are based on a schedule of benefits depending on the injury sustained.

For her part, Sen. Grace Poe urged transportation authorities to look into the rampant “no-show” practice taking place at the Land Transportation Office in its investigation into the accident. 

Poe, chair of the Senate committee on public services, said the authorities should look at the bigger picture in its probe of the accident, particularly the process in which they conduct their inspection of vehicles before registration or franchising.

Poe said she received reports about the rampant practice of “no-show” or “non-appearance” of owners or operators seeking new or renewal of their registration or franchise, or during emission testing.

“Information that reached us said on paper, motor vehicles undergo and pass the test, but the reality is a number of them were never tested,” Poe said.

Poe pointed out that the complete inspection of vehicles, including emission testing, is required for their annual registration.

She said there were various reports that reached her office about how some LTO employees allegedly received bribes during inspection in exchange for approval even without the physical assessment of vehicles.

Poe said some bus companies have designated representatives who deal with LTO employees for their fleet to get a clean bill without testing, for a fee.

In some cases, Poe said the chassis and engine numbers do not match in the original documents because operators changed them.  

“If indeed true, then we can only imagine that because of this corrupt practice in the LTO, many vehicles, in whatever condition, can ply our roads, putting in peril unsuspecting passengers and commuters,” Poe said.

Poe said stricter tests should also be done on buses that have notorious accident records.

Poe has a pending bill creating the National Transportation Safety Board that would be the sole agency tasked to look into transportation-related accidents and determining their causes. – With Mary Grace Padin, Marvin Sy