Driver of counterflowing bus in viral video suspended

Rainbow Express has suspended the driver of its bus that was seen counterflowing in a viral video after it received a show cause order from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

A report by GMA News' Susan Enriquez on "24 Oras" on Thursday said Alberto Agustin was suspended for 30 days and will be brought to the LTFRB for a hearing on February 15.

"I advised my client to comply, which is to file an answer until Monday," said lawyer Cesar Cainglet, the legal representative of Rainbow Express.

The report quoted Agustin as denying that he committed a traffic violation, saying he only used a zipper lane. The incident was caught on video that has gone viral on Facebook.

LTFRB spokesperson Aileen Lizada said they will listen to Agustin's formal explanation during the hearing. "They were given a time," she said. "Dito ho kami maguusap sa February 15."

The bus driven by Agustin is one of 10 Rainbow Express bus units franchised until June 2018. When its plate number was plugged into May Huli Ba?, a website that allows commuters to check if a vehicle has traffic violations, the bus turned out to have a total of 11 traffic violations.

Seven of these were for loading and unloading in undesignated spaces and four were for swerving out of the bus lane.

Efren Gonzales of the Quezon City Department of Public Order and Safety (QC-DPOS), the traffic enforcer seen in the video of the incident, said he panicked at the conflict between Agustin and the other motorists and was unable to arrest the bus driver.

"Yung nakaharang na 'ko sa ano niya, sa gilid niya, pilit niyang inaabante yung bus. Hinarangan ko na ho, kasi talagang aabante siya. Talagang ang kalaban ko marami na," Gonzales said, adding that he was unable to call for back-up because his radio ran out of power.  —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News