Victim of taxi driver urged to report to DCPO

THE Davao City Police Office (DCPO) urged the victim of a reported taxi driver, who allegedly has a malicious intent, to personally appear before the office and inform them of the incident.

City police spokesperson Senior Inspector Catherine dela Rey, in a phone interview, said police city director Senior Supt. Michael John Dubria has already been informed on the matter.

"The director has yet to issue his directive. For now, we encourage the victim to report this incident to the Sasa Police Station so we can trace the taxi and know the driver," dela Rey said.

In an open letter for Dubria from Gail Tan Ilagan, a director of the Ateneo de Davao University (Addu) Copers, she said one of her graduate interns hailed a white taxi outside Damosa in Lanang at around 8:30 a.m. Saturday and instructed the driver to bring her to the Ateneo Roxas Gate.

According to Ilagan, her intern had a stuffy nose and it was sometime before she registered the strong repulsive smell permeating in the cab. The driver reportedly had on a surgical mask.

The victim also noted that there was no driver’s identification card (ID) visible anywhere inside the cab and also there are no markings on the doors for the operator’s taxi/contact details.

The victim said the cab was going very slow

and that she was further alarmed to note that the driver had made a detour along a deserted side street off Cabaguio. She texted a friend to say that the taxi she was riding had taken her among the warehouses in Cabaguio.

By then, the victim started to feel numbness around her nose and mouth and was already feeling a bit dizzy, but she desperately fought it off. Luckily, she spied a Massey warehouse with some activity and insisted that the driver to let her off, which he did.

"The Massey security guards responded to her plea for help by getting her to sit down to catch her breath and clear her head. They also hailed a taxi later to get her to our event at school," Ilagan said.

Unfortunately, the taxi that dropped the victim off had already left before she was able to confide her concerns to the guards. They were not able to get the license plate.

Dela Rey also encouraged the public to be vigilant. She said the police will surely look into this report.

City information officer Jefrey Tupas, meanwhile, said they already informed the Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSSCC) about the matter.

Tupas said the concerned government authorities will have a meeting today.