LTFRB suspends taxi franchise in chemical spray modus

MANILA -- The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has slapped a 30-day preventive suspension to the franchise of Dadz Taxi, which was allegedly involved in a modus operandi where passengers are drugged with a chemical that the driver sprays on the air-conditioning system. The complainant, who requested to hide her identity, said she hailed a Dadz taxi with plate number UVW 243 along Tomas Morato, Quezon City around 2 p.m. last October 19. But the driver wanted to return a purse left by another passenger first. Inside the cab, the driver turned the aircon up. The complainant then heard him spray something twice. It smelled of vanilla, she recalled. The driver rolled down his window and before long, the complainant started feeling dizzy and weak. She started looking for the plate number of the vehicle and managed to text a friend. She then rolled down her window and demanded the driver to stop and drop her off a nearby gas station. She gave him P100 and got off the taxi. She then posted the incident on Facebook after 2 days and reported it to Quezon City Police District Station 10 the following day. Meanwhile, the owners of the said taxi also attended the hearing and identified the driver as Ronald Allan Kelly. They said he has been with them for two years now and has no criminal record. They also complained about the victim's move to post the incident on Facebook instead of making a police report immediately. The driver, whom ABS-CBN News also spoke with on the phone, explained that what he sprayed that day was simply fabric conditioner. He explained he sprays fabric conditioner on the carpet in order to get rid of bad odor. The LTFRB will endorse the matter to the police for the appropriate criminal charges. But the taxi owners said if the complainant cannot prove that their driver did something criminal, they will file counter charges for the damage it has caused them. They said they have prevented their driver from taking the taxi out since they have learned of the incident last October 22. They have since lost around P40,000 in revenue. The taxi driver is also willing to face his complainant. According to the LTFRB, there are 7 other similar complaints. But the hearing for all 7 has been rescheduled due to the non-appearance of its complainants. The LTFRB, for its part, will also enhance rules on taxi drivers and operators to prevent similar complaints. They will design a new ID system for taxi drivers and have also ordered taxi operators to disable the child lock feature on their units.