Regular holiday sa Pilipinas kahapon, Huwebes Santo, Abril 2, 2026.
Pero kahit walang pasok sa tanggapan ng mga sangay ng pamahalaan, mabilis ang pag-aksyon ng Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) sa insidente ng pang-i-scam o panlilinlang ng isang taxi driver sa Cebu sa K-pop idol na si Soobin.
Si Soobin ang leader ng sikat na South Korean boy group na Tomorrow X Together (TXT).
Read: K-pop idol Soobin ng TXT, may masamang karanasan sa taxi driver sa Cebu
Sa pahayag na inilabas ng tanggapan ni LTFRB Chairperson Atty. Vigor D. Mendoza II, galit na sinabi niya: “Enough is enough. Sa kabila ng lahat ng pang-unawa na ibinibigay ng pamahalaan sa mga taong ito ay gagawa pa ng mga kalokohan na naglalagay ng ating bansa sa kahihiyan.
“I have already instructed the Regional Director, LTFRB Region 7, to identify the driver and operator and locate the taxi unit for immediate impounding. We will file criminal charges for violating public service law and estafa.”
Nabulgar at nalaman sa maraming panig sa buong mundo ang pambibiktima ng hindi pa nakikilalang taxi driver dahil sa video na ibinahagi ni Soobin sa kanyang vlog nang magbakasyon sila sa Cebu ng kaibigan niya.
In-upload ang vlog ni Soobin sa official YouTube account ng Tomorrow X Together na mayroong 13.3 million subscribers.
LTFRB STATEMENT ON SOOBIN'S TAXI EXPERIENCE IN CEBU
Ito ang kabuuan ng pahayag ng LTFRB tungkol sa insidenteng nagbigay ng kahihiyan sa Pilipinas:
“Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is now crafting a new policy that will pave the way for immediate filing of criminal charges and impounding of taxis that are overcharging passengers.
"LTFRB Chairperson Atty. Vigor D. Mendoza II said they see such a drastic move as one of the solutions to address the repeated complaints against erring taxi drivers, the recent was the viral post of K-Pop idol TXT's Soobin that put the Philippines in bad light.
“The test case of the new policy will be the driver and the operator of a taxi which was caught in a video recording device overcharging the popular South Korean singer and songwriter while on vacation in Cebu last month.
“This is in line with the instruction of President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' R. Marcos, Jr. and DOTr Secretary Giovanni 'Banoy' Z. Lopez to ensure the protection of commuters vs abusive PUV drivers.
“In the video, the initial price was P350 but the singer was charged with P500 and along the way, the driver was insisting on a P1,000 payment as he claimed that the taxi was using a special fuel.
“The post went viral and generated millions of views. The incident also led to discovery of past incidents of South Korean and other international performers being overcharged by taxi drivers in the country.
“This is on top of the administrative charges that include revocation of the franchise of the taxi operator involved. He said the LTFRB will coordinate with the Land Transportation Office for the revocation of the license of the taxi driver.
“'The taxi unit will also be impounded pending trial,'” Chairperson Mendoza said.
"While he was still the LTO Chief, it was Chairperson Mendoza who crafted a policy that only a court order will release any motor vehicle impounded for colorum violation. The LTFRB Chairperson said the impounding of units and the filing of criminal charges on top of the administrative cases will now be a new standard in dealing with erring taxi drivers.”
Pinuri ng ilang netizens ang LTFRB dahil sa maagap na pagkilos laban sa taxi driver na nambiktima kay Soobin.
Pero may mga nagkomento ring dahil sikat na personalidad ang sangkot sa isyu kaya mabilis ang pag-aksyon ng naturang government agency.
Read: Maine Mendoza joins Atayde family gathering amid breakup rumors with Arjo