Ifugao solon wants probe on provincial buses

MANILA -- Ifugao Rep. Teddy Brawner Baguilat vowed to file a resolution seeking a probe into the rules and regulations of provincial buses on the heels of another deadly bus crash. According to Baguilat, it is about time that the government take a closer look into how buses operate following the death of 14, including artist and activist Arvin “Tado” Jimenez, when a Florida bus fell into a ravine in Mt. Province last Friday. The lawmaker will also propose to remove the boundary system of compensation and requiring at least three drivers for long bus rides -- or those that take at least eight hours -- and two drivers for any provincial trip. Baguilat said bus drivers have to be used to the road conditions in the Cordillera, as these are markedly different from conditions in the lowlands, noting the long and narrow mountain roads in the Mt. Province with hairpin curves. He added that lights, directional signs and barriers also have to be in place to minimize accidents on the road. Buses could also be required to install speed monitoring equipment. "The number and quality of provincial roads may have improved over the past four years, but road safety record remains abysmal," said Baguilat, , whose province of Ifugao - home of the world-famous Ifugao Rice Terraces -- also relies on tourism for its development. "But if we gain a reputation for danger on the mountain roads, then we will not be able to hit the number of tourists that we want to have in the Cordillera," he said.