If you haven’t read the full story, here’s what happened – https://www.wheninmanila.com/rude-taxi-driver-in-manila-vs-quick-thinking-passenger/

Now, things get more interesting as apparently this is a full on modus operandi that our taxi passenger discovered!

Here’s Kate’s story about confronting the taxi driver at the Department of Transportation and Communications DOTC offices:

Manila Taxi Gang

So I went to DOTC, got inside the room and was asked to sit opposite a man unfamiliar to me. I thought maybe he was the radio operator or owner of the original taxi I had complained about: Duke Ezekiel plate number UVZ 404.

The case officer presided and introduced the guy in front of me as the driver of the taxi matching the plate number UVZ 404.

Surprised, I said that it actually was NOT the driver who serviced me. I was sure of this because I had a photo of the driver (plus the fact that the driver was arrogantly threatening me in public made him REAALLLY hard to forget).

The officer asked the driver in front of me the trade name of the taxi he is driving and we were both surprised that it was not Duke Ezekiel! I showed them photos of Duke Ezekiel’s unit that I took and the driver confirmed that this was not the unit he is driving.

Same plate number, but different units.

The presiding officer informed me that this may be another case of DOUBLE PLATES. Apparently, operators who are not granted with a taxi franchise would copy a plate and use it on their taxis. The DOTC officer said the practice is most rampant in Valenzuela.

In the end, I asked DOTC to clear the mistaken driver from the complaint. As for my case, DOTC will escalate this to LTO as this is already an issue of law enforcement.

My heart went out to the mistaken driver. He told me that he really wanted to come and meet me because in the 25 years that he’s been driving a taxi, there was never any complaint filed against him. I pray that LTO will take action on this. The plot thickens as this exposes another anomaly that is being exploited by corrupt operators.

Written by Kate S.

Posted with her permission

Manila Taxi Gang: Follow Up on Rude Taxi Driver at DOTC