MANILA, Philippines - The driver of the ill-fated bus and vehicle owner GV Florida Transport Inc. face charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and multiple physical injuries.
Bontoc Municipal Police filed the complaint before the Mountain Province Prosecutor's Office late Tuesday for the fatal accident on February 7 that left 17 dead.
The charges were based on affidavits of witnesses and surviving victims who said that the bus was speeding along the sloping highway prior to its fall into the ravine.
Driver Edgar Renon was among the 31 injured from the crash.
Read: 'No insurance for Florida bus crash victims'
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Chairman Winston Ginez said that mechanical failure and the driver's negligence led to the tragedy.
He said that skid marks on the road suggest that the wheels of the passenger vehicle blew up. The bus was also recently discovered to be bearing a fake license plate.
GV Florida Transport, meanwhile, had denied that there was negligence on their part as it was the condition of the road that led to the crash. LTFRB has suspended the bus franchise for the incident.