Cabbie insists UGS bus killed journalist

MANILA, Philippines - The driver of a taxi that carried journalist Lourdes “Chit” Estella-Simbulan on the night she was killed belied in a Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) hearing yesterday allegations by bus driver Daniel Espinosa, who blamed two other buses for the mishap.

Vito Jagunos said he is convinced that the Universal Guiding Star (UGS) bus driven by Espinosa was the one that hit his cab from behind.

“Why are they saying that they are not liable for this when they are the ones who killed my passenger?” Jagunos said during the hearing, which was held to determine any liability on the part of the bus firm and if there was a need to sanction the firm and its franchise.

During the hearing, UGS lawyer Alexander Verzosa and Salvador Panelo, Espinosa’s lawyer, told the board that another bus had hit the cab driven by Jagunos before Espinosa’s vehicle collided with it.

Jagunos, however, said his vehicle was first “sideswiped by another bus. But it was the second bus that directly hit the back of my vehicle.”

Jagunos said he was not able to identify the other bus but he was sure it was Espinosa’s vehicle that hit his cab from behind.

However, Panelo told The STAR that Jagunos’ “allegation” contradicted “physical evidence.” He said there was green paint on the back of Jagunos’ taxi, and this came from a Nova Auto Transport Inc. bus. UGS buses are orange, he said.

Espinosa was not present during the hearing yesterday and was represented only by Panelo, who said he will give the board a copy of Espinosa’s counter-affidavit, which will also be submitted to the fiscal hearing the complaint against the bus driver.

QCPD: Espinosa still to blame

Chief Superintendent George Regis, director of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said while he had ordered a reinvestigation of the accident that killed Simbulan, the police finding pinning the blame on Espinosa for Simbulan’s death stays.

Regis earlier said he ordered a reinvestigation of the case after Espinosa and Panelo alleged that two Nova bus drivers were racing against each other when one of them hit the taxi just before Espinosa’s bus did.

He said the involvement of another bus will only be tantamount to damage to property. “The cause of death is the bump or impact caused by the bus driven by Daniel Espinosa and (he still faces charges of) reckless imprudence resulting in homicide,” the QCPD director said.

Nova Auto Transport denies involvement

A lawyer of Nova Auto Transport Inc. talked to The STAR yesterday and maintained none of their units were involved in the accident that resulted in Simbulan’s death.

Lawyer Vigor Mendoza said while there was a bus carrying the license plates mentioned by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, there was no damage on the vehicle. “We’ve talked to our drivers and conductors and they denied it,” he said.

Mendoza accused UGS of employing “squid tactics,” saying he would not be surprised if another bus firm is implicated if the blame cannot be pinned on his client.

He also said the firm is mulling filing charges against those “maligning” the name of Nova Auto Transport.

During the hearing by the LTFRB yesterday, Verzosa asked the board to lift the suspension on UGS without prejudice to the final decision of the agency on the company’s fate.

According to Verzosa, the company had already complied with the one-month preventive suspension imposed following the accident.