MANILA, Philippines – Daniel Marsh, a member of the group Juan Direction, has spoken up after a taxi driver accused him of refusing to pay the fee, beating him up, and damaging his cab.

In an interview with TV 5, Daniel, who was said to be traumatized by the incident, admitted that he felt that he was being ripped off by the taxi driver Edward Villanueva, when Daniel took the cab going to his house in Mandaluyong.

“The problem is that he came out and used the opportunity to try to rip me off,” the TV host said.

According to a report from Interaksyon, Daniel said the argument started when the taxi driver did not turn on the taxi meter. He also said that the driver tried to get him to pay P500 (about $11.53). 

“I got into a cab from The Fort Strip and he didn’t turn on the meter. I pressed the meter button and there was obviously tension in the cab. When we reached my destination, I gave him P100 then he said, ‘You give me P500!’ He was insisting on being paid P500 and I thought that was way too much. Seriously, I even gave you a tip because the meter was only around the P70 mark,” Daniel said.

Daniel said that he had lost his wallet and that he only had just enough money to pay, after borrowing from a friend.

He also denied Edward’s claim that he was drunk, saying that he just went home to clean himself up, since he had work.

In the same report, Daniel said that he never had problems giving tips, but when the driver asked for P500, that’s when things started to escalate.

“We were having an altercation inside the cab because of the verbal progression of our argument and then he grabbed me by the throat. He physically grabbed me first. It wasn’t a simple flare-up. He initiated it. He was insistent on trying to get it (the money) out of me. What am I supposed to do in that situation?” he said.

He said that he had no intention of refusing to pay the driver. However, he was disappointed that someone would try to get him to pay more than what was required.

Daniel also apologized to his fans and to the public for the incident. He also said that he has no plans of taking legal action against the driver.

On Wednesday, July 23, a report by journalist Ellen Tordersillas that appeared on Philstar.com said that the TV 5 talent mauled Edward Villanueva for asking him to pay the amount of P78.50 that was reflected on the taxi meter, after he picked him up from The Fort area in Taguig. 

The report said that Daniel allegedly headbutted the driver and cursed him. 

The driver said that Daniel not only hit him, but also damaged the window of the cab. Daniel later threw P100 ($ 2.31) at him.

Edward said that all he wants was for Daniel to pay for the damage done to the vehicle.

Edward has has since reported the incident to the authorities, and has gone to the barangay clinic for a check-up. 

Daniel, a half-Filipino, half-Irish model, is one of the five members of the group which is part of Juan Direction, a reality-documentary show produced by TV 5. It features the lives of the five part-Filipino, part-foreign members, where they travel to various places in the country to know more about their roots.  – Rappler.com

(US$1 = P 43.35)