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If you haven’t read the full story, here’s what happened – https://www.wheninmanila.com/rude-taxi-driver-in-manila-vs-quick-thinking-passenger/
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Now, things get more interesting as apparently this is a full on modus operandi that our taxi passenger discovered!
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Here’s Kate’s story about confronting the taxi driver at the Department of Transportation and Communications DOTC offices:
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 Manila Taxi Gang
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So I went to DOTC, got inside the room and was asked to sit opposite a man unfamiliar to me. I thought maybe he was the radio operator or owner of the original taxi I had complained about: Duke Ezekiel plate number UVZ 404.
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The case officer presided and introduced the guy in front of me as the driver of the taxi matching the plate number UVZ 404.
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Surprised, I said that it actually was NOT the driver who serviced me. I was sure of this because I had a photo of the driver (plus the fact that the driver was arrogantly threatening me in public made him REAALLLY hard to forget).
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The officer asked the driver in front of me the trade name of the taxi he is driving and we were both surprised that it was not Duke Ezekiel! I showed them photos of Duke Ezekiel’s unit that I took and the driver confirmed that this was not the unit he is driving.
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Same plate number, but different units.
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The presiding officer informed me that this may be another case of DOUBLE PLATES. Apparently, operators who are not granted with a taxi franchise would copy a plate and use it on their taxis. The DOTC officer said the practice is most rampant in Valenzuela.
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In the end, I asked DOTC to clear the mistaken driver from the complaint. As for my case, DOTC will escalate this to LTO as this is already an issue of law enforcement.
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My heart went out to the mistaken driver. He told me that he really wanted to come and meet me because in the 25 years that he’s been driving a taxi, there was never any complaint filed against him. I pray that LTO will take action on this. The plot thickens as this exposes another anomaly that is being exploited by corrupt operators.
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Written by Kate S.
Posted with her permission
Manila Taxi Gang: Follow Up on Rude Taxi Driver at DOTC