LTFRB to issue show cause order to bus company following fatal shooting in Nueva Ecija

The Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Thursday said it will issue a show cause order to Victory Liner to pave the way for the agency's investigation on the bus company following a fatal shooting of two passengers inside one of its buses in Nueva Ecija.

"We will issue it today," LTFRB Technical Division head Joel Bolano said in a news conference when asked when the show cause order will be issued to Victory Liner, one of the largest provincial bus companies operating in the country.

Sandra Aguinaldo on "24 Oras", reported that Victory Liner officials declined to be interviewed but issued a statement that the company is already cooperating with the Philippine National Police in its investigation and that their bus driver is considered a witness to the crime. 

Bolano said that under an existing LTFRB Memorandum Circular, public utility bus companies are only allowed to ply routes covered by their franchise as well as required to implement a security plan for both bus terminals and their vehicles while in transit.

Violations of such terms, Bolano said, carry sanctions including suspension, cancellation of franchise, among others.

"That is why we need [to issue] a show cause order for us to determine the proper resolution on (sic) the incident," Bolano explained.

Thr LTFRB is checking whether the bus in question had a franchise along the route where the suspects were picked up. Authorities are also looking as to the bus was allowed to take chance passengers along the said route since the two suspects did not board in a bus terminal.

Bolano said the board is trying to determine whether the Victory Liner bus was a regular or a point to point bus.  

In a viral video of the incident, two male passengers initially told the driver of the Manila-bound bus that they were about to get off at the town of Carranglan in Nueva Ecija.

The men suddenly brandished pistols and gunned down two passengers sitting on the first row at point blank range. The victims, a man and a woman, were repeatedly shot on the head and neck.

The suspects then told the surprised driver to open the door to which he complied and the gunmen immediately fled.  —RF, GMA Integrated News