Cabbie charged foreigners P10K each; locked them up until they paid

Authorities are looking for the taxi driver who charged his Taiwanese passengers as much as P10,000 each for a ride from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 to Terminal 4.

According to a "24 Oras" report by Jonathan Andal, the cabbie even locked up his passengers until they have paid the taxi bill.

The incident was recorded on video which was uploaded and became viral.  However, the video did not catch the plate number or body number of the vehicle.

In the video, it can be seen that a fake taxi fare list with the logo of the Department of Tourism and NAIA was handed over by the driver to the passengers.

Based on the list, the fare to Terminal 3 costs over P13,000 per passenger while the cheapest fare for those bound to hotels and bus terminals in Metro Manila is P10,000 pesos per passenger. 

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is now investigating the video. However, the agency said it has no information on the driver's identity and the taxi's plate number.

"Nanawagan kami sa uploader ng video na bigyan kami ng detalye to start on dahil babaan po ng show cause order ang nasabing driver sa kaso po ng overcharging," said LTFRB spokesperson Celine Pialago-Vargas. 

The uploader refused to be interviewed but said that his Taiwanese boyfriend only shared the video which came from a Facebook group of Taiwanese tourists in the Philippines. 

According to the original post, it was the guard at NAIA who took the Taiwanese passengers to the taxi driver since there was no shuttle bus in the area. 

The cabbie allegedly even locked up the passengers in the taxi until they paid P10,000 per person, which was reduced to P5,000 per passenger after they bargained.

The Manila International Airport Authority is investigating the incident.

"Nakipag-ugnayan na po kami doon sa tao na nagpost nito at nakausap na po siya ng ating imbestigador. Ang MIAA po ay nananawagan sa ating mga pasahero, we encourage them to take the accredited transport po ng NAIA dahil po dito madali po natin matukoy at mahuli ang mga nag-aabuso na taxi drivers," Vargas said. 

"Tinalo pa noon yung pasahe sa eroplano," she added.

Meanwhile, the LTFRB also warned that the said driver could be suspended once proven that he overcharged the passengers. —Sherylin Untalan/LDF, GMA Integrated News