Taxi firm faces raps for extortion

MANILA, Philippines – A taxi company may lose its franchise after one of its drivers was accused of locking his passengers in the vehicle and forcing them to turn over their mobile phones as payment, a Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) official said yesterday.

Merely Fukuta, operator of the MAHK Transportation Services, violated several provisions of the Joint Administrative Order (JAO) of the LTFRB and the Land Transportation Office (LTO), LTFRB member Ariel Inton said.

“We could suspend or even cancel his franchise because he committed multiple violations,” Inton told The Star.

Fukuta’s driver, Jeric Cullano Rosalejos, will also be charged with “contracting” passengers, which means asking the passenger to pay an amount over and above the indicated fare; overcharging; and plying without using a taxi fare meter, Inton said.

Rosalejos will also be charged for being arrogant and for allowing an unauthorized person to use his vehicle.

Locked in

Mark Kevin Tomale, 19, filed a complaint against Rosalejos for overcharging and getting his cousin’s mobile phone.

Tomale, who fetched his pregnant cousin from Palawan, said a taxi barker at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport offered him a rate of P30 per kilometer for a trip to Gil Puyat Avenue. He accepted, thinking he would only pay P300.

When they reached their destination, Tomale alleged that the driver charged them P1,980, five times the fare they expected.  

He said that they only gave P1,400, but the driver locked them in the cab and demanded his cousin’s P22,000 mobile phone as payment.

Fukuta and Tomale met in person before the LTFRB Friday afternoon.

Fukuta presented what he said was Rosalejos’ driver’s license. Tomale identified Rosalejos as the barker who negotiated the fare and another man drove the cab. The driver has yet to be identified.

Inton, meanwhile, said they checked with the LTO and found that the driver’s license the operator handed him was fake. The LTO has no record of Rosalejos applying for a license, he said.

He said they would also file charges against Rosalejos for using a fake driver’s license.

The LTFRB set the case for hearing on Wednesday.