ZAMBO SUR EXPLOSION: Charges poised vs truck operator

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Criminal charges are being readied against the operator of the chemical truck that figured in a deadly explosion in a remote hilly village in Tigbao, Zamboanga del Sur.

Chief Superintendent Jaime Caringal, Region 9 police director, said Mayolito Recassa of Recassa Trading would be charged with reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide, serious physical injuries, and damage to property.

"What we see here is the aspect of negligence based on the findings of the fiscal and joint investigation of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group," Caringal said.

The truck, carrying pressurized liquid carbon dioxide, was traveling downhill along a remote highway in Tigbao when it lost its brakes and slammed into a roadside boulder, causing it to overturn.

The truck exploded minutes later just as a crowded RS Transit bus pulled over to check. The explosion tore the vehicles into pieces, killing more than 50 people and injuring scores of others. The blast also damaged other vehicles in the vicinity.

"It was a clear accident due to negligence and we ruled out claims of a possible terrorism act," Caringal said.

Meanwhile, the parents of one of the fatalities, bus conductor Isidro Guerrero Jr., received P60,000 in insurance claims from the Philippine Accident Managers Inc.

PAMI, the insurer of the ill-fated bus, is processing the insurance benefits for the families of 30 other fatalities. The procedure is expected to take time as the official and complete list of the victims is still being prepared.