MANILA, Philippines – The Land Transportation Office (LTO) slapped a 90-day preventive suspension on the driver’s license of the taxi driver charging upwards of P10,000 for rides from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

This came after a Facebook post showed a video of the “airport meter rate” of a supposed “airport accredited regular taxi,” with the following prices per passenger:

• P11,500 to NAIA Terminal 1
• P12,000 to NAIA Terminal 2
• P13,500 to NAIA Terminal 3
• P10,300 to NAIA Terminal 4
• P10,300 to any part of Metro Manila
• P9,700 to all hotels or bus terminals in Metro Manila

After the post became viral, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board launched an investigation, saying in a statement that it takes the “integrity and fairness of taxi services” seriously. A few days later, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the entire fleet of the erring taxi company has been barred from operating at NAIA.

Now, the LTO has issued a show cause order against Arnel Acle, the driver of the taxi seen in the video, with license plate ABG 7845. The driver could face three violations of Joint Administrative Order No. 2014-01: overcharging passengers, discourteous and arrogant to passengers, and violation of the franchise.

LTO head Vigor Mendoza II called the incident a “clear violation of the law.”

“The preventive suspension we issued on the driver’s license of Mr. Acle is our way of sending a strong message to these errant drivers that we will do everything in our power to make them responsible for any illegal activities,” Mendoza said in a statement on Thursday, December 28.

Acle has not reported for work since he last appeared to remit his earnings to the taxi operator on December 19. The operator stated that Acle supposedly went on vacation in his province. The LTO, in its statement, said that he is “believed to have gone into hiding.”

“We are now coordinating with the Philippine National Police and our local offices to locate this man,” the LTO chief said. – Rappler.com

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