THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) has suspended the licenses of 10 taxi and transport network vehicle service (TNVS) drivers for 90 days for allegedly overcharging and illegally contracting passengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City.
In a surprise operation on June 25, authorities apprehended the erring drivers and subsequently issued show-cause orders, LTO Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said Sunday.
“We already informed these drivers of the suspension of their licenses for 90 days through the show cause orders that we issued them. In other words, they will have no work during that period, and this is because they took advantage of our fellow commuters,” Mendoza said.
“We will not allow this kind of abuse. If they can do this to our fellow Filipinos, what more to tourists? It will damage our country’s image,” he added.
Some of the most outrageous incidents included a driver demanding P1,300 for a short trip from NAIA Terminal 2 to Terminal 3, and another asking for P5,000 for a ride from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2.
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Also, the LTO is investigating a motorcycle taxi rider who allegedly charged P2,000 for a ride from NAIA to Cainta, Rizal.
Mendoza said LTO enforcement teams were deployed at all three NAIA terminals.
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Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has denounced the circulation of unauthorized taxi fare guides, warning that these fake rates — reportedly being shown to passengers at airport terminals — are not sanctioned by the government.
“We will not tolerate this,” Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said in a statement. “The government will go after those spreading fake taxi rates, as well as operators and drivers who overcharge passengers. If any DOTr personnel or other government employees are found to be complicit, they will also face consequences.”
The department urged the public to verify taxi fares only through official channels and to report any incidents of overcharging to the authorities.
