Taxi driver (left) and barker

LTO chief to victims of scam: Talk to us

MANILA – The Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Friday asked victims of a taxi scam to come forward and file a case against those involved, in order to help prevent similar incidents from happening.

"Gusto kong makuha ang kahit anong lead. Gusto nating pag ginawa natin itong [pagimbestiga], mape-penalize natin [ang mga suspek]. As much as possible hindi natin ilalagay sa panganib ang biktima," LTO Assistant Secretary Edgar Galvante said in an interview on DZMM TeleRadyo.

[We want to get any lead regarding the suspects. We want to be able to penalize them if we investigate. We will do what we can to keep the victims safe.]

A victim of a taxi scam posted an account of her encounter with scammers on September 18, but had not yet pursued any action against the suspects due to fear that someone might come after them.

According to the victim, "Janine," the driver of the taxi they rode from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 to a bus terminal in Cubao asked them for fare amounting to P3,600. He was accompanied by a barker, who entered the taxi as soon as they got in.

Courtesy of "Janine"

"Kunwari pumayag kami dahil naisip namin na baka kung anong gawin sa amin kung makikipagtalo pa kami, at nagdahilan na lang kami na walang cash kaya kailangan mag-withdraw sa ATM," she said in a Facebook post.

[We pretended to go along with them because we did not know what would happen if we fought. We just told them we needed to withdraw money from an ATM machine]

"Dun kami nagpababa sa may malapit sa pulis…nung narinig nilang sinabi ng kapatid ko na puntahan ko yung pulis, nagmadali sila ibaba yung mga bagahe namin sabay sibat kahit nakabukas pa yung mga pintuan ng taxi."

[We got off the taxi near policemen…when they heard my brother tell me to go to the police, they dropped our luggage and fled, with the taxi doors hanging open.]

Unfortunately, the driver and barker were able to flee, as the police chose not to pursue them.

"Sabi daw ng pulis, wala naman palang nakuha sa inyo," Janine said.

[The police said, the suspects did not get anything from you anyway.]

Others have commiserated with the victim on Facebook regarding the incident, and shared that they encountered the same men.

"Ang nakuha ko lang po ay taxi number. Ang pangalan hindi ko na natanong kasi naramdaman kong may ginagawa sila," said "Liza," who told DZMM TeleRadyo that she encountered the pair in August.

[All I got was a taxi number. I did not ask for their names because I felt they wanted to do something.]

According to Galvante, those found guilty of overcharging can be fined P5,000 on the first offense, P10,000 for a second offense, and P15,000 for a third offense.

The LTO can investigate the case with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and ask airport authorities to watch out for the modus as well.

"Aside from sa aksyon na gagawin natin [sa LTO], may regular meeting sa Department of Transportation para mabantayan ang mga ganoon. Again sa akin, welcome i-forward ninyo [ang ebidensya at report] para mapigilan ang pagbiktima,” Galvante said.

[Aside from acting on our own at the LTO, we will take this up with the Department of Transportation. We welcome evidence and reports of incidents such as this so we can prevent this from happening again.]