Taxi driver, passenger nearly came to blows over 20 pesos

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will summon a taxi driver who had an altercation with his passenger after he allegedly attempted to overcharge and dupe him on the prevailing tariff rate for taxi services.

The episode was recorded on video and went viral in social media, a report on GMA News' 24 Oras Weekend said.

The video was initially posted in the Tambayan ni Berto Facebook page.

The driver of Jomaritz taxi was identified in the post as Arnold Agron

As narrated by the passenger, who purportedly posted the video, he hailed the cab at Baclaran in Parañaque City and asked to be taken to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.

The passenger claimed that the driver initially tried to offer a flat rate of P150, but he insisted that they use the meter. The driver hesitantly activated the meter and went on with the trip.

The meter rate registered P61 and the passenger gave the driver P1,000. At this point, the passenger had activated his phone's video and started to discreetly record the proceedings.

The driver gave the passenger P900 as change, prompting the passenger to demand an additional P20. The driver however, insisted that he should've been paid P100 because of the traffic. The passenger then reminded him that the rate would've been lower since P10 should've been subtracted from the flag down rate.

"Ay wala nang minus 10 ngayon... tumaas na ang gas," the driver said. The passenger asked him, "kailan pa ho?" and the driver retorted, "matagal na".

The passenger then told the driver he was not aware that the rate scheme had been changed.

"Wala akong ... po, lagi po akong nanonood ng balita. Pahingi pong bente," the passenger said as the driver gave him dagger looks.

It was at this point that their conversation became heated as the driver started cursing. The passenger alighted from the taxi and shouted at the driver, "Huwag na kayong magda-drive ng taxi! P____ ina mo rin! F___ you, ka!" before slamming the door.

The video also showed the passenger continuously cursing the driver who also went out of his cab. The driver challenged the passenger who was walking away to come back.

The video has been shared over 3,800 times as of posting time and had 476 comments and over 1,300 reactions.

LTFRB Board Member Ariel Inton said that the incident was a clear case of overcharging.

"Wala nang discount ngayon, that's a violation," Inton said.

"Yung pasahero mo...hintayin mo na bigyan ka ng tip, don't demand for the tip, that is overcharging," he added.

The video was handed over to the complaint section of the LTFRB for review, the report said.

Inton said that they have asked the driver and the operator of the taxi to present an explanation, and that they will be getting the statement of the passenger as well.

The guilty party will be fined P5,000 to P15,000.

If the operator turns out to be at fault, the taxi franchise will be revoked and terminated. — APG, GMA News