By Aaron Recuenco
The families of the 19 people who died in a bus accident in Occidental Mindoro have received P200,000 each from the insurance provider of the Dimple Star bus.
Bong Nocum of the Passenger Accident Insurance and Management Inc (PAMI), said that his company also gave P20,000 to each of the injured passengers to cover medicine and hospital expenses.
“We personally gave the money to the relatives of the victims who died. On the part of those injured, the money was given to them in the hospitals where they are confined,” said Nocum.
It was recalled that the Dimple Star bus skidded off the road and eventually fell to a deep ravine in Sablayan town last week. The driver, the conductor, and 13 passengers died on the spot while four others died in the hospital.
The bus was believed to have lost its brakes before it rammed the railings of the bridge.
The bus accident resulted in the crackdown on colorum passenger vehicles as ordered by President Duterte.
Nocum was quick to clarify that there were no strings attached on the distribution of insurance which totaled P4.2 million, saying the victims could still pursue the charges against the Dimple Star Management.