The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is now crafting a new policy that will pave the way for immediate filing of criminal charges and impounding of taxis that are overcharging passengers.
LTFRB chief Atty. Vigor Mendoza II said they see such a drastic move as one of the solutions to address the repeated complaints against erring taxi drivers, the recent being the viral post of K-Pop idol TXT’s Soobin that put the Philippines in a bad light.
The test case of the new policy will be the taxi driver and the operator caught on video overcharging the popular South Korean singer and songwriter while on vacation in Cebu last month.
This is in line with the instruction of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Department of Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez to ensure the protection of commuters against abusive Public Utility Vehicle drivers.
In the video, the initial price was P350 but the singer was charged with P500 and along the way, the driver was insisting on a P1,000 payment as he claimed that the taxi was using a special fuel.
The post went viral and generated millions of views.
The incident also led to the discovery of past incidents of South Korean and other international performers being overcharged by taxi drivers in the country.
“Enough is enough. Sa kabila ng lahat ng pang-unawa na ibinibigay ng pamahalaan sa mga taong ito ay gagawa pa ng mga kalokohan na naglalagay ng ating bansa sa kahihiyan,” an angry Mendoza said when he personally monitored the viral post on social media.
“I have already instructed the Regional Director, LTFRB Region 7, to identify the driver and operator and locate the taxi unit for immediate impounding. We will file criminal charges for violating public service law and estafa,” he added.
This is on top of the administrative charges that include revocation of the franchise of the taxi operator involved. He said the LTFRB will coordinate with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) for the revocation of the license of the taxi driver.
“The taxi unit will also be impounded pending trial,” Mendoza said.
While he was still the LTO Chief, it was Mendoza who crafted a policy that only a court order will release any motor vehicle impounded for colorum violation.
The LTFRB chief said the impounding of units and the filing of criminal charges on top of the administrative cases will now be a new standard in dealing with erring taxi drivers.