DEADLY PLUNGE | Bus company, Antique government vow support to victims of bus tragedy

December 6, 2023 , 10:55 AM

By Beatrice Puente

(December 6, 2023) – At least a dozen passengers were confirmed dead after a bus fell off a ravine in Antique, the company said on Wednesday, apologizing to the victims and vowing to provide support to families affected by the tragedy.

Vallacar Transit, Inc. (VTI), which operates Ceres Liner, said the casualties include the bus driver, the conductor, and the line inspector. It added that the bus was bound from Iloilo to Culasi in Antique when the accident occurred at Kilometer 174 in Igbucay, Hamtic, Antique at around 4:30 p.m. yesterday.

But the number of casualties confirmed by the company was lower from the earlier report of the Antique provincial government, which counted 16 fatalities, as of 3 a.m.

“VTI will be providing financial assistance to the passengers and their families, as well as shouldering their medical and burial expenses. The management has assigned personnel to be on standby at the hospital for further updates and assistance,” read the statement of the company.

VTI said it has voluntarily suspended the operations of the 12 other units belonging to the same franchise under which Ceres bus number 6289 was part of. It also promised to coordinate with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board for any probe that it will conduct.

“Rest assured that we are doing everything that we can to make sure that this is being handled properly and carefully,” said VTI. “The management guarantees the riding public that we are taking all the appropriate steps to ensure that our buses are road-worthy and well-maintained.”

Initial reports said the estimated number of passengers on the bus was 53, but VTI said it was only 24.

Early reports also said the bus overshot a concrete barrier after its brakes malfunctioned, adding that the area was also accident-prone.

According to the Antique government, 28 victims have already been documented, including eight in critical condition and four others who are now stable. Some of them were brought to the Angel Salazar Memorial General Hospital.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) of Antique took the lead in the rescue of the injured passengers and the retrieval of the dead bodies in the area.

“As of the moment, PDRRMO-Antique retrieval operations have stopped as all visible bodies on site were already retrieved. The barangay and municipal government units were instructed to immediately alert the PDRRMO in case of sightings of other bodies,” said the Antique government.

Antique Gov. Rhodora Cadiao personally assured that they will actively attend to the needs of the victims.

“For the families, it’s not right for me to say ‘Don’t worry.’ But we’d like to assure you that whatever hospitalization, medicines, and what they need, we will take care of that,” said Cadiao.

The Antique Provincial Government is expected to hold a press conference about the incident this morning.

(This is a developing story.)

(PM)

Privacy Statement

Our Privacy Commitment

TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.

We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?

We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
To share livestreams of news and sports events;
To understand our viewers’ needs and preferences;
To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
To perform other processes or disclosures that are required to comply with pertinent laws, rules, or regulations.

Where do we get your personal information?

There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
- Register to our programs or services;
- Inquired, filed a complaint or requested for our services;
- Took part in our research and surveys; and/or
- Became our Partner, Vendor, Contractor or Supplier.

Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
- Viewing our websites;
- Activities that are being tracked by our website cookies;
- Calling our hotline;
- Using our apps, websites, and self-service channels and portals; and/or
- Joining our promos, prize raffles, or rewards and loyalty programs.

Information we collect from other sources

Other means of collection of information may be through:
- Our market research initiatives;
- When you visit and use our websites and mobile application; and
- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

When do we disclose personal information?

There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.

How we protect your personal information

The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
We keep your information only for as long as it is necessary for us to (a) provide the products and services that you avail from us, (b) for our legitimate business purposes, (c) to comply with pertinent laws, and (d) for special cases that will require the exercise or defense of legal claims;
We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
We undergo regular audits and rigorous testing of our infrastructure’s security protocols to ensure your data is always protected;
We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

What are your choices?

We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.