Valisno bus owner still a no-show at LTFRB hearing

MANILA, Philippines — The owner of the Valisno Express bus and the driver of the unit that rammed into a concrete boundary marker in Quezon City, killing four persons and injuring 18 others, did not show up anew in the hearing Tuesday.

The the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB), however, accepted the reason for the absence of Rosalinda Valisno as her lawyer, Francisco Blanes, presented a medical certificate during the proceedings.

LTFRB member Ariel Inton said Blanes furnished a copy of a medical certificate which showed that Valisno is confined in an Oriental Mindoro hospital, purportedly to undergo an operation.

Last week, Blanes told board members that his client could not attend the hearing because of severe depression.

Inton, meanwhile, questioned the results of the drug test on 80 bus drivers, which indicated that only one, George Pacis, had been positive for illegal drug use.

Pacis is the driver of the Valisno bus that plowed through a marker along Quirino Highway in Quezon City two weeks ago. He has been detained, facing several criminal raps.

"It seems that they (Valisno management) wanted to show that this (accident) is only an isolated case. They already knew that a drug test was forthcoming, kaya napaghandaan na nila," Inton said.

He said that the board will impose a penalty against the management of Valisno before the suspension order lapses on September 12.

"The Board will have to decided whether to cancel its franchise or impose another suspension," he said.