(Eagle News) — Senator Grace Poe reiterated her call for the creation of a National Transportation Safety Board, following the deaths of 20 people in a head-on collision between a bus and a jeepney in La Union on December 25.
“Higit kailanman kailangan natin ng isang (NTSB) na magiimbestiga at magbabantay sa mga sakunang pantransportasyon gaya nito upang maiwasan ang mga pagkakamali at pagkukulang na humahantong sa pagkawala ng buhay ng ating mga kababayan,” Poe said in a statement.
At the same time, the senator, who is also the chair of the Senate committee on public services, called for a “thorough” investigation into Monday’s incident that saw also several injured.
She said that the “help” that was due the victims and their kin should also be given to them.
“Ang diwa natin ay kapiling ng mga naulila sa aksidente sa madilim na kabanatang ito. Taos-pusong pakikiramay sa mga pamilyang namatayan sa trahedyang ito,” she said.
Twenty people, including children, were killed in the head-on collision between their vehicle, a private Isuzu jeepney, and a bus around 3:30 a.m., Monday.
The police said the bus rammed against the jeepney that had left its lane to overtake another vehicle.
The jeepney was carrying people who were on their way to attend a Catholic church service in Agoo at that time.