CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Land Transportation Office in Central Visayas (LTO-7) has preventively suspended for 90 days the driver’s license of a public utility jeepney (PUJ) driver allegedly involved in a reckless driving incident that injured five people and damaged six vehicles along Colon Street on August 11.
LTO-7 issued the preventive suspension after the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) Traffic Enforcement Unit (TEU) forwarded the driver’s license to the agency following the crash near the intersection of Colon and Junquera streets.
According to LTO-7, the driver allegedly accelerated and collided with motorcycles traveling in the same direction, causing injuries and property damage.
The agency also placed the PUJ under alarm and ordered the driver to surrender his license and submit a verified explanation within five days.
Crash injures five
The crash occurred in the afternoon of August 11 near Super Metro Colon and involved the PUJ, five motorcycles and a sedan.
CCPO TEU chief Police Lieutenant Colonel Jomar Medil earlier said five people suffered minor injuries, including cuts and abrasions. One person reportedly ended up underneath the PUJ but sustained only minor injuries.
The crash also damaged six vehicles.
The PUJ driver claimed that brake failure caused the incident.
“Ang iyang allegation is nawad-an siyag brake,” Medil said. (He alleged that he lost his brakes.)
Medil said, however, that the traffic unit did not determine whether a mechanical failure caused the crash.
“Well, we only dwell on the incident. We don’t dwell on the mechanical issue sa iyang sakyanan,” he said. (We only deal with the incident. We do not determine the mechanical issue involving his vehicle.)
He said determining the PUJ’s roadworthiness falls under the LTO’s mandate.
LTO orders driver to explain
LTO-7 said the preventive suspension will last 90 days while the agency processes the administrative case.
The driver must surrender his license and submit a verified explanation within five days from receipt of the order.
The agency also placed the vehicle under alarm, preventing transactions involving the unit while the case remains under evaluation.
LTO-7’s action follows the request of the CCPO traffic unit for administrative sanctions against the driver and vehicle.
Medil earlier said the TEU had forwarded the driver’s license to the LTO and intended to seek stronger sanctions against the PUJ.
“Ang amoang intention is to revoke and to alarm, put alarm, on that said unit,” Medil said. (We intend to seek its revocation and have an alarm placed on the said unit.)
The TEU had also asked the LTO to inspect the vehicle and determine whether it remains fit for public road use.
Settlements do not end administrative case
Medil said the driver and operator had reached settlements with the injured parties and owners of the damaged vehicles.
“Ang tanan nga mga na-injure niya, tanan nga mga na-damage niya, ang iyang operator ug ang driver willing man sila… nag-come up sila ug settlement, kay minor injuries man pud,” he said. (For everyone who was injured and all the vehicles that were damaged, the operator and driver were willing to settle because the injuries were minor.)
The settlements, however, did not stop the traffic unit from pursuing administrative action through the LTO.
The agency’s preventive suspension now places the driver’s ability to operate a vehicle on hold while the administrative proceedings continue.
The LTO will determine the appropriate sanctions after evaluating the driver’s explanation, the circumstances of the crash and the vehicle’s condition.
The preventive suspension also gives the agency time to conduct the necessary proceedings before reaching a final decision on the driver’s license and the PUJ’s registration.