Remember the ‘Imbestigador’ episode where they exposed the airport taxis not using the meter and showing passengers a laminated menu charging exorbitant rates and threatening to run away with your luggage if you don’t pay? Well, guess what? They’re back.
I arrived at the NAIA last September 15, 2010 from Dubai, UAE. My brother was waiting for me at the arrivals area and together we walked towards the gate to exit the airport when a man asked us if we need transport. I asked him how much they charge and he showed me a folder with rates per destination which was in Dollars. I told him we’re only going to Mall of Asia and he said it will cost around 950 pesos. I declined and we continued to the exit where buses going to Cubao are passing by. Reaching the waiting shed, I hailed a Taxi, the name was ROSE with plate number TXY 339,
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| When he drove off.. Don't worry I got my luggage *heh* |
and asked the driver if he will take us to Mall of Asia and if he’s going to use the taxi meter. He said he charges by ‘meter rate’ and tired as I already am we got in. A little way ahead, I noticed that his meter is covered by a brown towel so I asked him why he isn’t using it. He said they charge only a small amount and that he only gets 1 peso and their organization? Gets the most and kept rambling on. I asked him how much he will charge going to Mall of Asia and he gave me an A5 sized yellow laminated paper with the places and the respective rates. Pasay (for MOA) costs 650 pesos. I told him to stop the cab because I will not pay that amount. We were currently in the junction waiting for the traffic light and he said he will drop me at the Park and Fly building. I told him I know about their modus operandi and I saw this in Imbestigador but he said he’s not trying to fool me and they were legitimate. I told him how much I should pay if we get down now and he said 100 pesos. I am worried he might drive away with my luggage so I paid but not before I took a snapshot of his plate number and if you will notice one of the digits in the telephone number has been blacked out but I still could read it as 9.
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| See the blacked out number? 9 isn't it? |
I decided to report this incident as I’m a really huge fan of Imbestigador and I have faith that *in a Mike Enriquez voice* ‘hindi namin ito tatantanan!’. I came home from Dubai several times before already and because of Imbestigador exposing those scumbags charging exorbitant rates to unsuspecting passengers, I opted to either use the airport taxi or when budget is low, go outside the airport vicinity and hail a taxi but always making sure they use the meter.
As a parting note, I would like to warn people who arrive at the NAIA to be careful when hiring a transport. Either use the airport Taxis (located just above the waiting area), get a relative or a friend to pick you up, or if you really need to use a normal taxi outside the airport premises, make sure the taxi driver will use the meter and avoid dingy looking cabs which are most likely ‘kolorum’. For those drivers engaging in this kind of extortion, not all people who come out of the Airport Terminal 1 are rich. A lot of us are also workers who worked our asses off to support our families. What you’re doing is called robbery. Shame on you.
