NAIA, Pasay City -- It was a sunny morning of October 17 when I arrived at the airport; Mrs. Kelly was travelling back to Toronto that day. After retrieving the access pass, I thought of dropping by the arrival area to confront a driver...
Zeny and I arrived at the airport on September 3 to meet a friend, Mrs. Kelly, who took Cathay Pacific flight from Toronto via Hongkong. We were too early for her arrival so we stayed at the Pass Control for about an hour. But before I went inside the arrival hall, I talked to an Avis lady at the transport zone for a car service to Malinta. It was quite expensive, P750 one way, I agreed though because there was no way for us to get a taxi from the arrival. It's impractical moving up to the departure area if you have big luggage.
Soon after, we cleared Customs and Mrs Kelly waited at the gate on a wheelchair. I searched for the Avis lady whom I spoke to earlier but she was not around. I decided to make an arrangement with the adjoining Jorivim Transport. It was even more expensive, P820. We agreed at P750.
When I handed the dispatcher the P1000 bill, he said he had no change. He gave it to the driver instead and told me I would get the change after refueling. We went on and passed by Caltex station at Domestic Road. We agreed he would drop me in Makati because I was reporting to work and they would proceed to Malinta thereafter. I thought the story would simply end there.
The next day, Mrs Kelly went to our house to give my daughter her presents, a barbie doll and some books. I learned they never faired with the driver the previous day. The driver did not give her the P250 change instead she gave the driver P200 and another $5 as tip. She even bought him lechon (roasted pig) when they dropped by a restaurant because the driver said it was his son's birthday that day. Upon disembarking at their destination, this driver gave a receipt demanding for another P820 'collect fee' (it was actually the original price and was previously paid with P1000). After bargaining, Zeny paid him P300.
There was a lady when I approached the counter. I asked for this driver; I got his name from the identification card that hanged on the his rear mirror. But the she told me he was not around after several radio broadcasts. I asked for the managers name and contact details. I was trying to call her to report such incident but she was always out.
We had another experience at the airport the last time we met my wife's cousin from Hongkong. We were able to get a taxi from the main road because she just had a small bag. When the taxi reached Domestic Road, the driver handed me a small red booklet and asked me to check our destination and the corresponding fare. To my dismay, the price indicated on the booklet was $50! Just imagine P2500! A ride from the airport to our place is only about P120! I told him how cruel he was to do this to a fellow Filipino. I asked him to pull over because we're getting out.
It's really very disgusting having this kind of people around the airport. They must be fired!
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