Manila’s Murderous, Mysterious Bus Companies

By Raïssa Robles

Killer buses like those of Don Mariano Transit have terrorized Metro Manilans for years, yet government seems to be helpless.

How many people must a bus company kill before its franchise is revoked?

In fact why are government agencies obscure and secretive about the whole issue of bus companies? We do not know how many bus companies there are in all, what their names are, who the people are who own them, how many franchises and buses they have,  their safety and criminal records.

Just go to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) website and click on the Distribution of Land Transportation Services in the country as of December 12, 2012 – the latest it has on record.

You will see that the number of PUB (public utility buses) for Metro Manila  is zero. That’s right – ZERO.

This is what the LTFRB has on its website.

Nowhere in the LTFRB website could I find  a listing of all the public bus companies in the country.

It has a list of bus routes and number of units authorized per route, but not the bus companies authorized to run to those routes and the number of buses they have.

It’s like going to the Commission on Elections site and finding out it doesn’t carry a list of candidates for an election.

Why is the LTFRB keeping this list of bus companies secret?

Yesterday, December 16,  presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said:

“You’ve got 12,000 units plying EDSA on a daily basis. We don’t need 12,000 units plying EDSA on a daily basis.”

Really? Well how would we know —  the LTFRB apparently considers this figure to be top-secret and keeps it from the public.

I remember how, years ago, there were rumors that the list of utility bus franchisees included mistresses of police officials. There was no way to verify that before. Now there should be.

When my journalist-friend Chit Estella died two years ago in 2011 after two buses raced each other on the street, one of the issues raised was the excessive number of bus companies competing for commuters in NCR.

It was among the reasons given for overspeeding bus drivers. And no less than the presidential palace had ordered a crackdown on reckless bus drivers.

On the morning of December 16,  eighteen people died, most of them in a Don Mariano Transit bus that careened on the Skyway and plunged down below, smashing into a passing vehicle.

The LTFRB long knew Don Mariano Transit’s ill reputation well

Two years ago, LTFRB listed Don Mariano Transit as the Number one “most dangerous bus operators based on damage to property.”

In May last year, passengers were robbed at gunpoint inside a Don Mariano Transit bus and one commuter was killed.

In July last year, a Don Mariano Transit bus nearly flew over the railings of the Ortigas flyover on the southbound lane of Edsa. The bus driver later claimed a motorcycle had appeared from nowhere, causing him to swerve. But bus passengers insisted the bus driver was texting on his mobile phone.

That “accident”, which injured 10, was a portent of today’s tragedy which could have been avoided if authorities had meted harsher punishment not just on erring drivers but most especially on bus operator-owners who have gotten away all these years with their buses killing people.

In August last year, a Don Mariano Transit bus plying the Magallanes flyover was involved in an accident with a motorcycle, whose driver was killed.

But as far back as two years ago, the LTFRB had already tagged the Don Mariano Transit as Number One in the list of  “Most dangerous bus operators based on damage to property.” Here is the list the agency released to newspapers but without any details:

1. Don Mariano Transit

2. Nova Auto Transport

3. Gassat Express

4. Miami Transport

5. Pascual Liner

6. Rainbow Express Inc.

7. Ropal Transport

8. A&B Liner

9. GELL Transport

10. CEM Transit Service

The Don Mariano Transit Corporation was, however, not alone in having that notorious distinction.

The LTFRB also released in 2011 – again without any details – the “Most dangerous bus operators based on the number of deaths (passengers and bus personnel).” See below:

1. Admiral Transport

2. Nova Auto Transport

3. JAM Liner

4. Gassat Express

5. Joyselle Express

6. Philippine Corinthian Liner

7. Rainbow Express Inc.

8. Alberto Garating

9. Alps the Bus

10. EM Transit Service

As well as the “Most dangerous bus operators based on the number of injured (passengers and bus personnel)” for 2011. See below:

1. Admiral Transport

2. Nova Auto Transport

3. AM Liner

4. Gassat Express

5. Joyselle Express

6. Miami Transport

7. Pascual Liner

8. Philippine Corinthian Liner

9. Rainbow Express Inc.

10. CEM Transit Service

The LTFRB, however, did not think it worthwhile to give details – which perhaps might have horrified the public enough to pressure the LTFRB into action.

If these bus companies had already been labelled the “most dangerous” in 2011, why are their buses still on our roads to this day?

Again, I ask the question –  How many people must a bus company kill or maim or both before its franchise is revoked?

The year 2011 was a banner year for accidents. Congressmen Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna and Fernando Hicap of Anakpawis noted that 6,940 bus accidents across the country were officially recorded by the Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis System (MMARAS) for 2011 – or around 19 bus accidents a day. Buses killed 34 people that year, usually during the morning and noontime rush; and 6,095 incidents involved damage to property.

Bus company operators and owners are seldom called to account

In fact the public doesn’t even know who these operators and owners are.

Whenever a passenger bus is involved in a fatal accident, don’t you wonder why the bus owners and operators are seldom identified by name? Why they are almost always assured of anonymity?

Only the bus driver comes under fire publicly.

It is only in the case of yesterday’s bus crash that the name of the “president” was disclosed early on by LTFRB chair Winston Ginez. He identified the company “president” as a “Dr. Melissa Lim.”

Dr. Melissa Lim actually owns half of Don Mariano Transit.

Do you think that if bus owners know their personal reputation is on the line every time one of their buses figures in a deadly road accident, they will take more care about the safety of their buses and the quality of their drivers?

We do not need a Freedom of Information Law to demand more transparency from LTFRB.

Here are the things I believe the the LTFRB should ROUTINELY release to the public:

1. All the names of the bus companies – especially those plying Metro Manila and surrounding provinces;
2. The names of the bus company operators-owners including members of the board of directors to check cross-ownerships;
3. The operators’ contact numbers and contact persons;
4. The franchises each company owns;
5. The number of bus units per franchise;
6. The expiration dates of the franchise;
7. And most importantly, a running enumeration of all the accidents involving their buses

• by date
• number of fatalities, injured and cost of damaged properties
• a short description of the incident
• what the LTFRB did
• and the status of any case(s) filed against them

Owners of airline companies routinely disclose the number of airplanes they have, as well as  whether these are brand new or second-hand. Bus corporations should be required by the Securities and Exchange Corporation and LTFRB to disclose these data routinely in their annual financial reports.

Non-disclosure should lead to suspension of franchise.

I looked at the financial disclosures of the Don Mariano Transit Corporation

It was incorporated in 1993 but has since changed hands and is now owned by the Lim family:

Its General Information Sheet (GIS) for January this year shows it has 308 employees and is owned by the following:

Melissa L. Lim – President – owns 50% or P1,999,800.00 worth of shares
Address – 848 Quirino Hiway, Barangay Gulod, Quezon City

Dalmacio L. Lim Jr. – Vice-President – owns 49.99% or P1,999,600.00
Address – 848 Quirino Hiway, Barangay Gulod, Quezon City

Anita L. Lim -director – minimal (0.005%)
Address – 66 C Valconcha St., Ozamis City

Alexander L. Lim – director – minimal (0.005%)
Address – 66 C Valconcha St., Ozamis City

Christopher L. Lim – Treasurer -minimal (0.005%)
Address – 848 Quirino Hiway, Barangay Gulod, Quezon City

Carmelo G. Lagura – none
Address – 848 Quirino Hiway, Barangay Gulod, Quezon City – corporate secretary

Its financial statement gave the following company phone number – 236-06-16 and Carlito Cardano as the contact person.

Last year, Don Mariano Transit claimed it earned P40.77 million, down from P43.4 million in 2011.

Deducting operating expenses, its net income last year was P297,715.56 – down from P638,570.68 in 2011.

Its Notes to its financial statements do not disclose how many buses it owns nor the age of its fleet. All it says is that the book value of its “transport equipment” was P89 million last year due to “additions” worth P15 million.

I had hoped that Chit Estella’s death two years ago would lead to drastic reforms in Metro Manila’s bus transport system.

I was wrong. Little has changed.

Today, Congressmen Zarate, Colmenares and Hicap refiled a measure seeking to give bus drivers  and conductors fixed monthly salaries. This is actually a re-hash of House Bill 3370  filed in the previous Congress by Congressmen Teddy Casino and Rafael Mariano, seeking  “fixed salaries” for passenger bus drivers in place of a commission equal to 9% of the gross take.

In this earlier bill, which died with the 15th Congress, Congressmen Casino and Mariano noted that tired and sleepy drivers, forced to work over 16-hour days, were among the causes of bus accidents in early morning and at noon.

Last year, the Department of Labor and Employment tried to compel bus companies to give bus drivers fixed salaries but the companies obtained a stay order from the Supreme Court.

The ball is once more in Congress’ hands. Will it choose to have blood on its hands and again kill the proposed law?

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