A TAXI passenger filed a complaint after a driver allegedly pointed a knife at him because he was angry the passenger asked for the P10 discount.
It was the second day the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) enforced the reduction in the flagdown rate, and also the second time a complaint surfaced in Cebu.
LTFRB 7 Acting Director Rey Elnar identified the complaining passenger as Dave Seyjorca and the driver as Joel Ramos of SD Taxi, owned by operator Sinforiano Doncillo of Barangay Cambinocot, Cebu City.
Elnar said his office summoned Ramos and Doncillo to appear at LTFRB 7 on March 12 for a hearing.
If found guilty, they face a fine of P5,000 each for the first offense.
Seyjorca, according to Elnar, reported that yesterday afternoon, he boarded the taxi on Escario St., Barangay Capitol Site to I.T. Park in Lahug, Cebu City.
According to a report in GMA 7’s 24 Oras Central Visayas, the taxi driver got irked after his two passengers, Seyjorca and his wife, asked for the P10 discount.
“He freaked out. Gilabay niya ang duha ka singko sa amoa (He threw two P5 coins at us),” Seyjorca said.
The taxi driver, he added, then pulled out a knife and challenged them, “Sukol mo? Isog mo? (You want to fight? Are you brave enough?”
The complainant said he grabbed his wife’s hand and they got out of the cab, then ran toward a building for their safety.
Starting last Monday, cab drivers are supposed to collect P10 less than what is reflected in their meters. This was LTFRB’s response to months of reductions in the price of fuel.
There was no time to recalibrate taxi meters before the order took effect. There was also no need, the LTFRB has said, because the P10 cut in the flagdown rate is provisional.
Seyjorca told Director Elnar that the driver first refused to give the P10 discount, saying the order was not clear and probably a fake.
When Seyjorca insisted on getting the P10, that’s when Ramos allegedly got two P5 coins and threw these at the back seat.
A national organization of taxi operators, with the support of two groups in Cebu, has asked the LTFRB to reconsider its order for a lower flagdown rate.