FINALLY! We relished the day when cabs would issue receipts. No more A-holic drivers and their preying attitude towards hapless commuters during stormy weather. No more pompous drivers who are so self-indulgent they could care less for commuters rushing to certain points during rush hour.

Well, at least we hope this would curb the occurrence of such events especially in the capital.

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On a recent trip to the capital, I had to take a cab that would take me from Taft to Edsa. I often take the ride when I'm rushing to the bus station to catch my scheduled trip.

I have taken this route countless times whether in traffic or in the relative unobstructed roads at night or early morning, so I have a rough estimate as to the cost of such a cab trip.

On this particular trip where I was so damn tired, I just flopped myself into the backseat of the vehicle and mentioned for the driver to bring me to this destination.

The road traffic during this time ebbed and the trip was relatively fast. However, I alternated from states of drowsiness and light sleep, briefly making sure I was in the right direction going to my intended point.

When I was near my end point, I rustled myself up to peer over the front seat to check on the cab fare only to find out the meter wasn't flagged.

Knowing the rough cost of the trip based on past experiences, I prepared a purple bill. When I reached my destination, the cab driver argued the fare should be more.

WTF! Then why didn't you flag your meter then, bud? His argument? I should have told him to flag down his meter. Since I did not say anything, he assumed that the trip would be contractual.

Duh! If that were the case, then why have a meter in the first place? Even if it were contractual, why didn't he quote a fare price when we were still at Taft Avenue?

Past experiences with the Land Transportation Office on similar cases did not prompt me to attempt another call to their hotline since calling the number during the day or at night has not proven fruitful. You merely get the constant ringing at the other end of the line.

Even with the nearby MMDA, I did not even attempt to get their attention. Not their jurisdiction.

Despite being tired, I argued with this cab driver ex-marine. I guess such reasoning was reason enough to boot him out of our respected military.

Is it a diner's responsibility to go to the kitchen and see how his order is made? Is it a consumer's responsibility to go to a factory and check out that his telly or her car is made properly? Not everyone is a cook. Not everyone is a mechanic.

Consumers have the right to check things out in the same way a patient would probably ask around on who would best address a medical complaint they are experiencing.

But for a commuter to be given the responsibility to tell a cab driver to flag the meter down or not is absurd! The implicit contract when one gets into a cab is for that driver to start the meter running unless the passenger explicitly says not to.

The passenger, though, should check the meter, to which I am guilty of not doing at that time. That is the extent of my mistake. But to say that I am responsible for whether the meter should or should not be started is absurd.

I am so glad that I have never encountered such a problem so far in the City of Pines. Perhaps the cool weather has something to do with it?

But other than minimizing and hopefully eliminating such scenarios, it may also limit the occurrences of money being pocketed by employees. When a company employee gets sent to do an errand and is given fare for the trip, a receipt would be great in the accounting of costs for that company.

A peso is still a peso. It would also work for the employee not shouldering an additional centavo to the fare if the amount given to him or her is much less than the fare.

The scheme could also marginalize non-legitimate operations of non-registered cabs, which would be of great benefit to compliant franchises.

Furthermore, it would provide in black and white the monthly travel expenses of the self-employed and would be beneficial in the accounting of one's books. It would definitely better determine the correct amount one would owe the government in taxes.

Speaking of taxes, it would most certainly be great for the nation's coffers, which we hopefully would be of great use in the maintenance of our frequently eroded, flooded, and hardly maintained roads.