We want to believe that we’re invulnerable, and that people who get tricked deserve it. Well, they don’t. And someday the arrogant types who mock the gullible are likely to get their turn to wear the dunce cap.
— American novelist and literary critic Walter Kirn
MAYPAJO, Caloocan City — It’s about time that passengers traveling from our airports learn about discernment if they want to be fairly treated by those taxi services who sometimes prey on them and try to dupe them of the hard-earned money they painstakingly work for while employed or doing business abroad.
This is the advise given to them by the Airport Police Department (APD) of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) that has strongly recommended arriving travelers, including not only our compatriots but foreign visitors and tourists as well, to select only transport vehicles accredited by the operator of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Actually, the concern has been a long-time problem and even when I was still a kid, I’ve heard of it from many friends who paid more than what should be paid to these abusive taxi drivers just because the victims are either gullible enough to believe or are pressured to agree to the exorbitant demands of service payment due to the fact that they are in a hurry or are simply desirous of reaching their destination. And it’s not only in the airports that situations like these happen—they also occur in other places like bus terminals and even in malls and markets—particularly when passengers are burdened by with so much baggage or items they bought that they are willing to be robbed without argument.
So now our airport authorities are stressing that the recommendation to be selective is aimed at protecting travelers from potential scams, overcharging and unlicensed operators who may not adhere to safety regulations.
But we believe our law enforcers know all about this and the truth is that the only reason for the issuance of the advisory on selecting taxi services is due to a recent incident where a taxi driver charged a passenger at least ₱1,200 for a brief trip from NAIA Terminal 2 to Terminal 3—this somewhat a little, too, late!
Accordingly, Airport Police chief Levi Jose advised: “What I would like to remind our passengers is to choose only accredited transport vehicles.
Your safety is important. It would be better to choose the right vehicle.” That’s a bit laughable, especially since behind the abusive taxi drivers are a number of corrupt police officers who concocted the idea of overcharging passengers so they can earn extra money to support their family (or families).
Finally, we tend to wonder if those passengers who are victimized are stupid or gulliblr not to discern they are being duped face-to-face.
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