The matter has reached the government agency.
In a statement on Thursday, April 2, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairperson Atty. Vigor Mendoza II has responded to the viral post of K-pop star Soobin during his recent trip to Cebu.
In the said vlog, which Soobin shared on the official YouTube channel of his band Tomorrow X Together, he shared the attempt of the taxi driver to charge them P1,000 from the airport to their accommodation, which is double the amount they have agreed upon and way beyond the initial price that was only P350.
The post went viral and generated millions of views, which also led to discovery of past incidents of South Korean and other international performers being overcharged by taxi drivers in the country—which the LTFRB regarded as one that put the Philippines in bad light.
Hence, the agency is now crafting a new policy that will pave the way for immediate filing of criminal charges and impounding of taxis that are overcharging passengers.
They told that such drastic move is one of the solutions to address the repeated complaints against erring taxi drivers, which is in line with the instruction of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Department of Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez to ensure the protection of commuters vs abusive PUV drivers.
The test case of the new policy, the LTFRB chief said, will be the driver and the operator of the taxi.
“Enough is enough. Sa kabila ng lahat ng pang-unawa na ibinibigay ng pamahalaan sa mga taong ito ay gagawa pa ng mga kalokohan na naglalagay ng ating bansa sa kahihiyan,” said Mendoza.
In line with this, he added, “I have already instructed the Regional Director, LTFRB Region 7, to identify the driver and operator and locate the taxi unit for immediate impounding. We will file criminal charges for violating public service law and estafa.”
This is on top of the administrative charges that include revocation of the franchise of the taxi operator involved, with the LTFRB also coordinating with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) for the revocation of the license of the taxi driver.
“The taxi unit will also be impounded pending trial,” with Chairperson Mendoza emphasizing that the impounding of units and the filing of criminal charges on top of the administrative cases will now be a new standard in dealing with erring taxi drivers.
While he was still the LTO Chief, Mendoza crafted a policy that only a court order will release any motor vehicle impounded for colorum violation.
At present, Soobin’s agency, BigHit Music, has not issued any statement regarding the matter.
