AN official of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board on Thursday said the spate of abuses committed by taxi drivers against their passengers has already become “alarming.”
LTFRB board member Ariel Enrile Inton said taxi drivers generally are not abusive, but are also becoming hostile and violent.
“Alarming in the sense that illegal acts are no longer about over-charging or refusal to convey passengers. Now, we’re talking about more violent acts, such as attempted homicide. In other words, there are some drivers out there who are willing and ready to injure, and worse kill their passengers,” he said in a statement.
Inton reacted to a Jan. 13 incident where a taxicab driver pulled out a katana or samurai sword and tried to thrust it against his male passenger, who was then together with his 10-year-old son.
The victim, Bayani Arradza, complained to the Quezon City Police District that he and his son flagged down a taxi driven by Manuel Publico at UP Bliss in Quezon City last Wednesday at about 6:40 p.m., and instructed Publico to take them to Project 4.
He confronted Publico when he noticed that the driver was taking the route toward Cubao.
A verbal altercation ensued between the two men, prompting Publico to stop the vehicle, ask his passengers to get off and reach for a sword.
Arradza managed to grab the weapon from the driver and to flee the scene to protect his son, while Publico gave chase, but passersby and motorists came to Arradza’s defense.
According to Inton, there is a need for authorities to review and revisit existing orders and memorandum circulars “in order to adopt to the changes brought by the needs of the society.”
“These involve the selection and supervision of the drivers by operators,” he said.
The “boundary system” in place between taxi drivers and operators must also be reviewed, he said, adding the system could have triggered abuses of drivers who wanted to earn more.