Highway Robbers

Less than a week after THE hostage incident at the Quirino grandstand, I was standing at the international departure area of the NAIA 2, with a cart in tow, waiting for a cab. Since it was already night time, there a few other people doing the same and there were few cabs in sight.

A cab drove up, and two Korean girls, maybe in their 20s, stepped out. They went to the back of the cab to get their luggage, the driver accompanying them. I wasn’t really minding them as we were looking at other cabs. After about 5 minutes however, the girls were still standing by the cab. It seems that the driver is asking for an extra amount  and the girls were refusing to pay an extra Php 500. The security guards who were were nearby, merely observed them. Two women, Filipinas, were already inside the cab, waiting for the driver to finish what he’s doing. When it became apparent to my companion that the driver was asking for an amount bigger than what was in the meter, my friend, in a loud voice, said: “Yan ang hirap sa iba nating mga kababayan, porke’t dayuhan, sinasamantalahan“. The driver, hearing my friend, shouted: “wag kayong makiki-alam dito mam at nag-baggage pa ako dito.” I took notice of the luggage the Koreans had with them. Each of them had a standard-sized luggage and that was all. Heck, even the stick thin Koreans had no problem lifting the luggage-it was that light. I shouted out to the driver: “Hoy, bawal yang ginagawa mo! Nakakahiya!” It was at this point that the  security guards decided to intervene and the Filipina passengers-in-waiting became impatient and got out of the cab. The driver, not wanting to lose his passengers, decided to leave the Koreans alone. As he was driving out however, he had some last words to the Koreans: “After this, I will no longer accept Korean passengers. Pak you!”. I never felt so much shame for a fellow Filipino.

What is it with taxi drivers anyway? What makes them think they can charge an arm and a leg if you are coming from an airport? A group beside me was being charged with a flat fee of Php 700 when their destination is just Paranaque- a stone’s throw from the airport. Another was asking that we pay double and then some, than what was in the meter. And at that, you have no assurance that their meter is properly calibrated. It’s like you were being robbed- only that it’s with your consent.

And things like these are not limited to the NAIA terminals. Once they get wind that you are from out of town, the meter shoots up. I like the Davao taxi drivers as they only charge you with what is in the meter. If you have a change of Php 10.00, they give it to you. When I was in Puerto Princesa, the tricycle drivers were also fair-giving us the correct change-even though we were obviously tourists. The  lone tricycle driver who did not give us our correct fare was, I am ashamed to say, a Bicolano. In Legaspi City, the tricycle drivers charge an exorbitant amount for a short ride. The same with the tricycle drivers in Sorsogon if they see you alighting from a Manila bus. 

I understand that they may be doing that because they are poor and that they have a boundary to meet, but being poor doesn’t and shouldn’t give one the right to cheat others.