Taxi driver tagged in ‘laglag-bala’ modus denies allegation

MANILA, Philippines – The taxi driver implicated in the alleged extortion scheme bullet planting or “laglag-bala” faced the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board on Wednesday and denied the allegations thrown against him.

Cab driver Ricky Milagrosa of the taxi with plate number UVK 190 denied allegations that he planted the 0.38 caliber bullet found in his passenger’s bag.

Milagrosa was summoned by the LTFRB to answer allegations of his involvement in the “laglag-bala” scheme following a Facebook report of a certain Julius Habana that he slipped a bullet inside the bag of his unnamed friend.

Habana said his friend was suspicious of what he saw and so he went to his boarding house instead to check his bag where he later on found the bullet.

Milagrosa however denied the claims of Habana’s friend and said he was surprised that the passenger asked him to drop by the boarding house in Remedios Street, Malate, Manila instead of Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Since Milagrosa denied the allegations, the LTFRB is set to issue a subpoena to Habana to attend the next hearing scheduled on November 10 to verify the report.

Reports said the LTFRB scrutinized Milagrosa’s franchise documents during the probe and although he may be cleared from the bullet planting complaint, one of his documents was found with a forged signature of the previous owner leading to the cancelation of his taxi franchise.

The LTFRB is also looking into filing falsification charges against the previous taxi owner for applying for an extension of validity instead of a sale and transfer of ownership to the current taxi owner.

The previous taxi owner, Gilbert Mendoza, was present during the hearing. He explained his side before the LTFRB en banc regarding his complicity in the incident.