LTFRB: ‘Case closed’ against rude cab driver; no sanctions
Taxi driver Joel Ramos (left) and call center agent Dave Say Horca faced off at the first LTFRB hearing held last month only for the case to be later dropped with no sanctions for the driver. (CDN FILE PHOTO)
The investigation of the Cebu city taxi driver who allegedly threw two P5 coins and brandished a knife at a passenger and his wife over the P10 flag down rollback is over.
The driver, Joel Ramos, who denied “overcharging” or threatening two call center agents whom he dropped off at the I.T. Park last March 9, is back at work in the taxi company on a part-time basis.
No sanctions were imposed.
“The case is considered closed and terminated,” said Edwin Antepuesto, hearing officer of the The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7 yesterday.
He said the complainant, Dave Say Horca, whose account went viral after he first described his taxi ride “nightmare” on his Facebook account, no longer showed up at the LTFRB 7 office after two hearings.
Horca was asked to put his complaint in an affidavit and come back with witnesses since the taxi driver denied the accusation during a face-off that was widely publicized.
Antepuesto said it seems Horca is no longer interested to pursue the case because he never came back.
Cebu Daily News tried to call Horca on his mobile phone for comment several times yesterday but he did not answer the phone calls.
Timeline
During the first hearing, the call center agent and the taxi driver insisted on their respective versions of what happened.
Ramos vehemently denied pointing a knife or throwing coins at them. He said he raised his voice against the couple when Horca started to take photos of his taxi with his cameraphone.
Antepuesto said he even showed Horca at the LTFRB office how to prepare his statements in an affidavit form.
But if Horca will reappear, he said the LTFRB is still willing to give him a chance to prove his allegations against the driver.
Antepuesto said that after the Holy Week, other commuters who complained of overcharging ended up “forgiving” taxi drivers who didn’t give the P10 reduction.
So where is Ramos?
Ramos has since become a family driver earning P6,000 a month.
He said he was happy the investigation was over. He has also resumed work at SD Taxi Co. on a part time basis.
Complaints
“My family and I are happy because the accusation against me was really painful to us. I am very blessed and thankful to the taxi company because they never left me despite what happened,” he said in Cebuano.
READ: Threatened by cab driver
Ramos is the bread winner in the family since his wife stays at home and his 16-year old daughter recently graduated from high school in Leyte.
He said he has no plans to file a counter- complaint against Horca.
Acting LTFRB Regional Director Reynaldo Elnar said the office has not received any complaints against taxi drivers over the P10 flagdown rollback for two weeks now.
For now, Elnar said, the P10 flagdown rate reduction is provisional.
The LTFRB board has no yet given its final ruling on a petition to rollback taxi service fare.
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