AVOID talking to your passengers.
This was the advice of former LTFRB board member Ariel Inton Jr. to all public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers including Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS) drivers following a complaint from a lady passenger against a Grab driver who allegedly sexually harassed her while on board the vehicle going to the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) last June 4 (not June 7 as earlier reported).
“Your duty is to bring your passengers to their destination safe and sound,” Inton told Cebu Daily News.
The Lawyers for Commuters Safety and Protection (LSCP) founded by Inton, also a lawyer, is extending legal assistance to Liza (not her real name) who accused a Grab driver of harassing her.
“It’s okay to be friendly, but don’t engage in conversations involving personal matters,” Inton said, referring to the PUV drivers.
“Sometimes there are conversations with passengers that cannot be avoided like traffic and politics,” Inton added.
Lawyer Roselo Alfar, a volunteer for LCSP-Cebu, said the victim can file an acts of lasciviousness case against the driver.
This was also the first complaint they received in Cebu involving a Grab driver.
Liza’s camp is waiting for the scheduled hearing at the office of Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB-7) possibly next week.
Alfar said the complainant, who just passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET), is still in a state of shock.
The incident happened last June 4 at 9 p.m.
According to Liza’s affidavit filed before the LTFRB-7 on June 7, her friend booked a ride going to CSBT from Mandaue City.
The name of the Grab driver is still withheld pending investigation.
“My friend and I boarded the aforesaid car … and while inside the car we started talking about personal things specifically about my personal problems until my friend disembarked somewhere at Carreta Elementary School,” Liza said in her affidavit.
Liza claimed that when she was alone inside the car, the driver “started talking to me and later on invaded my personal boundary when he held my hand, placed his arm around me, brushed his arm around my chest area and rested his arm on my lap. He then caressed and kissed my hair, he touched my face and turned it towards him. He kissed my forehead, my right cheek and left cheek.”
Alfar said that the Grab driver stopped his Mazda Sedan car near a university in Cebu City when the alleged incident happened.
“Nagbuot-buot siya og hunong sa sakyanan. Gi palong ang suga unya gi lock ang sakyanan. Didto siya ni agi sa tunga sa car seats sa atubangan padung sa back seat,” Alfar added.