Police to commuters: file complaints so authorities can take action

Screen grabbed from Wil Jay Adlawan

Cebu City Police Office chief Senior Supt. Joel Doria urged commuters to report incidents to the police so that authorities can take proper action against erring taxi drivers.

Doria made this statement after a Facebook post by a netizen Wil Jay Adlawan went viral on Sunday.

Adlawan, in a Facebook status he posted shortly before 1 a.m. on Sunday, accused the driver of a taxi cab of trying to exchange his P1,000 bill with a fake one.

The post caught the netizens’ attention and gained at least 1,200 reactions, shared over a thousand times with 244 comments as of 5:54 p.m. on Sunday. ”

“It can be entered in the police blotter. There has to be a body number or plate number of the taxi to speed up the investigation,” said Doria partly in Tagalog.

Adlawan, in his post, said he was willing to pursue the filing of necessary complaints against the driver.

“As for the driver, I will see to it that you get what you deserve. Bisag asa ta mag-abot. Daghan kog witness. Kay kung ako naka survive nimo, i’m worried para sa uban especially sa mga babaye nga pasahero. Thank God gihapon kay safe ra gyud gihapon. Amping tanan,” he wrote

(As for the driver, I will see to it that you get what you deserve. I’ll face you wherever this goes. I have a lot of witnesses. I survived you but I’m worried for others especially the women. Thank God I’m safe. Let’s all take care).”

Cebu Daily News sent Adlawan a private message to ask what’s his plan of action but has not gotten any reply yet. Based on his post, Adlawan said he hailed the taxi in Colon Street with plate number GXH 605 at around 12 midnight. He was on his way home to Minglanilla town, 17.9 kilometers south from Cebu City.

Before boarding, he said asked the driver if he had change for P1,000 since he did not have any smaller bill, to which the driver gave a nod.

“Before ko nisakay gipangutana nako ang driver daan kung naa siyay sukli sa P1000, nisanong siya mao tung nisakay ko,” he said. (Before I took into the cab I asked the driver first if he has a change for my P1,000 bill. He nodded so I took the cab.)

Upon reaching Minglanilla, the taxi meter read P204 for the fare, so he gave his P1,000 bill, still crisp and new since he had just withdrawn it from an automated teller machine (ATM). Suddenly, the driver claimed he only had six P100 bills to which Adlawan responded by saying that they just have to change the P1,000 bill at the gasoline station that was located just a few meters ahead.

Adlawan said he asked the driver to give him back the bill but was suprised when the driver returned a cramped P1,000 bill with a tampered seal. He began to be suspicious and told the driver that was not the bill he gave him. The driver insisted it was so he dared the driver to drive him to the gasoline station to have the bill checked. The driver allegedly panicked and and instead gave him his exact change.

After he disembarked, Adlawan said decided to proceed to the gas station to have his change checked as they could also be fake. On the way, he said the driver passed by him and told him he had his crampled P1,000 bill checked at the gasoline station and told him the staff at the station said it was not fake.

Upon reaching the gas station, Adlawan said he had his change checked and these were found to be genuine bills. He also learned that there was no taxi driver who went to the gas station to have a crampled P1000 bill verified, which made him conclude that the taxi driver was in fact lying.

A number of netizens have urged Adlawan to report the matter to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) or the police so that appropriate action could be taken against the driver.