On Jan 8, a Facebook user with the name Hannah Quiwa wrote about her encounter with an abusive taxi driver last Dec 28.
We’re reposting her story below (with minor edits for clarity):
I rode this taxi with my 15-year-old younger sister and my 10-year-old niece from our village to Robinsons Galleria to meet my parents.
When we got on the taxi, the driver told us to give him an extra PHP50 due to traffic. It took a while for us to get a cab, so I told him I would pay extra if traffic was really that bad.
The driver kept on complaining and swearing throughout the whole time he was driving. I was on the phone with my friend when he told me that he got a GrabTaxi after only five minutes. So, I said I should have tried GrabTaxi (because it took me almost an hour to get the cab). Mr. Taxi Driver didn’t feel ashamed to reveal that he had been listening to my conversation on the phone, as he interrupted by shouting, “Gusto mo ba mag-Grab? Sige mag-Grab kayo, walang problema yun (So, you want to get a GrabTaxi? Go ahead and get a GrabTaxi, that’s not a problem)!”
I attempted to get him to stop the car to let us out. I wasn’t planning to argue with such a person, so I just told him that it was fine. He continued driving but, instead of taking the route at Ortigas Avenue, he went through Pasig and went through numerous streets in C. Raymundo to increase the meter fare.
I doubt if I was wrong about his intentions. There’s no way a seasoned driver could make the mistake of getting into two one-way streets in one journey.
I contacted my dad, so he could wait for us at the drop-off point at the mall because I refused to pay an extra PHP50 to someone who wasn’t just rude and reckless but was also trying to make a fool out of me.
When we got in the mall, my dad didn’t have a hard time identifying the taxi we were riding because, by this time, the driver was honking his horn at someone crossing the pedestrian lane on the road in front of the the mall. My dad immediately asked the driver how much the fare was and why there was a need to add PHP50.
The driver started shouting at my dad. It escalated so fast that he the guards at the mall had to intervene. The driver continuously shouted at my dad and me. He said a lot of offensive things as I was telling him that he was being rude to me. My dad was telling him that it wasn’t about the money. It was about how he was a reckless driver and rude to young passengers. The driver had the most ridiculous reply. He said, “Put*ngina! Dahil lang 50 pesos magpapakamatay ka gago (Whore-mother! You want to get killed for 50 pesos, you idiot)!” He continued being hysterical.
I paid him the amount displayed on the taxi meter and the mall guards told him to drive away. He was still hysterical when he drove away.
The complainant also posted these details:
Name of Taxi driver: ROLANDO CAMARA
Plate number: AAO 7317 (NCR)
Place: From CAMBRIDGE CONDOMINIUM to ROBINSONS GALLERIA
Date of Incident: 28 December 2015
Feel free to SHARE. Stay safe everyone! And to all taxi drivers, if you can’t accept the traffic and can’t control you’re temper about it, stay at home!
“The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Monday, Jan 11, has summoned the taxi driver and the operator to a hearing on the incident at the agency’s office on Jan. 20,” reports Jaymee T. Gamil in Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The report noted: “In a show-cause order, the board directed the operator of Premium Taxi Premium Transportation Corp. and the cab driver to explain in writing within five days why their franchise should not be cancelled or suspended, based on the complaint posted online.”
