A taxi driver was arrested Friday (Aug 4) afternoon after driving away with his passenger’s phone.
A CCTV camera at Rizal Park in Manila caught Roderick Balilla picking up Vietnamese ASEAN Delegate Anne Pham from the Ministry of Health on Friday at around 5:00 p.m.
According to the investigation by the Manila Police District (MPD) Station 5, the delegate was just going to Manila Bay — roughly a five minute walk from the park — but Balilla drove around and around Padre Burgos in Manila for roughly 20 minutes before pulling over at Kalaw Street.
The driver then told Pham that the fare was PHP2,900 (US$57.67).
P/Supt. Emerey Abating of the MPD said Pham got scared because she couldn’t understand the driver, so she got out of the taxi and called her Filipino friend to talk to the driver. But when she handed her phone to Balilla, he stepped on the gas and drove off.
The driver protests, “Kala ko po bayad niya sa’kin yung cellphone at bigla po siyang bumaba.”
(I thought she was giving me her phone as her payment when she suddenly got out of the taxi.)
Balilla was arrested after another CCTV camera caught him fleeing. With the cooperation of the Land Transportation Office, the MPD caught Balilla by Friday night. The suspect is being charged with theft.
