Vallacar Transit Inc. is providing assistance to the families of the 18 fatalities and the 11 wounded Ceres passengers in Antique, the firm said in a statement Thursday, Dec. 7.
The VTI-owned Ceres bus fell off a “killer curve” in Barangay Igbucagay, Hamtic, into a 60-foot ravine on Tuesday.
The injured passengers are currently at the Iloilo Western Hospital, Iloilo Mission Hospital, and Angel Salazar Medical Hospital in San Jose, Antique. The eleven admitted patients are now in stable condition, a VTI press statement said.
VTI has established “Ceres Help Desks” at the lobbies of the three hospitals and the Hamtic Police Station.
Ceres employees have been deployed to assist in the release of medical needs and financial support to the families of the victims, VTI said.
Ceres employees are reaching out to the families of the deceased who have not yet availed of assistance, it added.
The VTI management is also mourning the loss of its four employees – bus driver Ricky Serios, conductor Wilmar Marcelino, and line inspectors, Jevy Bordago and Jose Glenn Fandagani.
Fandagani saved the life of a teacher and Bordago also saved a pregnant passenger. They chose to save the lives of the passengers even at the expense of their own, VTI said.
VTI said it welcomed the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) preventive suspension of its 12 units included in the franchise of the bus involved in the accident.
The management is now processing the necessary documents in compliance with LTFRB’s requirements, it said.
“With the suspension of the twelve units, VTI management is assuring the riding public in the Province of Antique that sufficient number of units are available to transport them safely and comfortably to their respective destinations,” VTI assured.
VTI is appealing for the humane consideration of the public to refrain from posting, sharing, and/or entertaining fake videos and pictures of the accident. These fake videos and pictures are adding an emotional toll to the families who are grieving the great loss of their loved ones, it said.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office VI has also released P60,000 financial assistance to the victims of the accident.*