All Queensmen taxi cabs have been banned from picking up passengers at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) after one of its drivers was arrested for overcharging and stealing over P60,000 in cash and valuables from an overseas worker.

A Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) report said that Catalina Prado had just returned to Manila from Oman on July 16 when she took a Queensmen taxi driven by Rodel Ormillo at Naia Terminal 1.

Prado said that along the way, Ormillo told her he would be charging a flat rate of P1,700 for a one-way trip to Muntinlupa.

According to Prado, she asked to be let off as she found the fare too exorbitant.

After Ormillo unloaded her bags from his taxi, Prado noticed that her black backpack was missing but when she approached the cab, it sped away.

The backpack contained jewelry worth P30,000; wrist watches worth P25,000, a passbook and ATM card, goods worth P6,000 and other important employment documents, Prado said.

Cops track down suspect

She filed a complaint with the airport police, which traced Ormillo to his house at Barangay San Isidro in Rodriguez, Rizal, on July 19.

He initially denied the bag was in his possession but later admitted that he left it with a friend. He also said he had pawned some of the jewelry.

The airport police were able to recover the backpack and the rest of Prado’s valuables while Ormillo was arrested and charged with robbery in the Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office on Friday. -By: Dexter Cabalza