Cebu gov calls meet with bus operators over accidents

In the wake of a series of deadly bus accidents, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia will meet with bus operators in the province to ensure buses’ roadworthiness and safety of passengers. Garcia called for the meeting to make sure bus operators regulate bus drivers’ behavior, Radio dzBB's Cebu affiliate reported on Tuesday. Garcia lamented at least 40 people had died in bus-related accidents in the province in the last three weeks. These include 21 who died in a bus crash in Cebu last month, 20 of them Iranians; and the 15 people who died in a bus that crashed into a fence last Saturday. [See: 15 killed, 48 hurt as bus slams into fence in Cebu] Saturday's accident was less than two kilometers away from where a trailer truck crashed and killed four people on the eve of another fiesta on June 21. Authorities had suspended the franchises of the bus firms in both cases, pending roadworthiness tests for their fleets. The dzBB report said Governor Garcia wants public utility vehicle drivers to be disciplined and bus operators to ensure the roadworthiness and safety of their vehicles. - LBG, RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV