Article by Eunice Ian Pradas Graphics by Maj Quizon
November 3, 2022
In this time and age, it is tragic that people take advantage of the clueless. Unfortunately, there is no doubt that the Philippine transportation system is not an exception to untruthful acts. At some point, you have probably fallen victim to overcharging as well.
However, foreigners are more prone to this tragic incident; because they are unaware of how transportation works here. Last October 2nd, Joshua Hong of the K-Pop group SEVENTEEN revealed in a Weverse live broadcast that he was charged PHP 1,000 for a taxi ride. The amount is triple, if not more, than the standard taxi fare. With news like this, tourists may be discouraged from visiting the Philippines.
The situation was followed up with a word from the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on October 8th. Based on an article by ABS-CBN, LTFRB said in their statement,
“𝙆𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙮 𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞 𝙠𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙜𝙖𝙥-𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙜𝙖𝙥 𝙨𝙖 𝙇𝙏𝙁𝙍𝘽 𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙡𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙠𝙤 𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙜𝙖 𝙋𝙐𝙑 (𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙫𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙡𝙚) 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙨𝙖 𝙠𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙜𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙤 — 𝙡𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙡 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙤 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙪𝙝𝙖𝙣.” (The LTFRB does not condone this kind of deceitful behavior of PUV drivers towards their passengers — whether they be locals or foreigners.)
The locals disagree with the statement because it was already a problem long before Hong spoke about it. The LTFRB talks about not tolerating unfairness, yet they do not act on it. The whole overcharging fiasco, as well as the overall quality of public transportation, is something the masses wish for improvement. Filipinos are complaining about why it took an international idol to speak up about transportation problems for the LTFRB to speak and take action against it.
Furthermore, on October 12th, ABS-CBN wrote that the authorities were searching for the taxi driver that overcharged Hong. However, this is an unnecessary course of action. The driver is only trying to live, and Hong is a rich idol who earns a lot. Therefore, what is the point of tracking this specific driver and stripping him of his source of income? He is not the only driver to scam people, so why is it only him that’s taking the punishment? It is unfair that they act when it comes to a famous foreigner and do nothing for the Filipinos that need this kind of help. While what the driver did was morally wrong, this kind of scam happens for a reason.
Instead, the LTFRB should be focusing on the root cause of why such dishonesty happens in the first place. After all, the drivers are also victims of an anti-poor system as they receive a salary below the minimum wage. Especially with the inflating prices, these workers need the money more than ever. They should also be helping the Filipinos in the first place; it shouldn’t take a celebrity like Hong for them to act on this issue. To effectively prevent further overcharging situations, the LTFRB must look at the bigger picture and not only this particular case.
SOURCES:
ABS-CBN News. (2022, October 12). Authorities searching for driver who overcharged K-pop singer. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from ABS-CBN News website: https://news.abs-cbn.com/.../authorities-searching-for...
ABS-CBN News. (2022, October . LTFRB kinondena ang overcharging ng taxi driver sa K-Pop star. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from ABS-CBN News website: https://news.abs-cbn.com/.../ltfrb-kinondena-ang...
Ricci, C. (2022, October 10). Fare overpricing, taxi drivers, Joshua Hong: Topics that gained buzz amid Seventeen concert. Retrieved October 20, 2022, from Interaksyon website: https://interaksyon.philstar.com/.../fare-overpricing.../
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