A video posted on Facebook yesterday by Joshua Baluyot showing a woman getting out of her car and slapping a 52-year-old taxi driver has gone viral.
The incident, which now has over 10 million views on Faceook, happened on Congressional Avenue in Quezon City.
ABS-CBN News identified the driver as Virgilio Doctor. He filed an affidavit at the Land Transportation Regulatory and Franchising Board (LTFRB) after the incident.
The video shows the cab driver parked with his blinkers on with the private vehicle parked next to it. A man is then seen exiting the private vehicle and then proceeds to shout at the taxi driver.
Next, it shows a woman coming out of the car who also starts to shout at Doctor. She is then seen reaching her hand inside the vehicle to slap the driver.
The driver gets out of his car while holding his face.
The man and woman were allegedly angry that Doctor honked at and overtook them.
“I said sorry because I didn’t want to fight with them. I even was the one to say sorry first. I said, ‘sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I’m sorry,” Doctor told ABS-CBN News in Tagalog.
He was hit in the ear by the woman driver, causing him to become dizzy. He realized later on that his blood pressure rose after getting slapped.
“That’s why I got out of the car, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Good thing it didn’t happen,” the taxi driver said. He also said he had previously suffered a stroke.
The passenger at the time said she was on her way to work when the incident happened.
“I was shocked when someone punched the window. The window was punched then they were telling the taxi driver to come out. Then the guy was cussing at him (Doctor). I was shocked and scared,” said passenger Luzel Pasaylo.
“The girl got out of the car, and I thought she was going to stop her husband. But I was surprised when she took out a club and hit the taxi twice with it,” Pasaylo added. “I was inside and still nervous.”
Since there was no accident or scratches, the passenger tried to tell the couple to just get the taxi’s plate number and complain to the proper authorities.
“The girl was cussing. She was telling the driver ‘fuck you’ (in Tagalog). She was telling him that they had footage of him tailgating and recorded on the dash cam,” Pasaylo said. The woman driver allegedly told the cab driver and his passenger she was upset because she had two kids in the car.
Since she was running late for work, Pasaylo had already found another ride before Doctor was slapped by the woman.
The LTFRB said they are looking for the couple in the video.
(Editor’s note: We initially identified the cab driver as Rogelio Doctor, based on local media reports. His name is Virgilio Doctor. We apologize for the error.)
