Operators told: Weed out 'ipit taxi' cabbies

MANILA, Philippines - A police official urged taxi operators yesterday to scrutinize the background of people applying to be cab drivers to ensure that they do not have links with criminal elements.

Superintendent Franklin Moises Mabanag, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit of the Quezon City Police District, said they have been receiving an increasing number of reports about passengers being victimized by cab drivers and at least one cohort using the “ipit (squeeze) taxi” modus operandi. The victim would literally be squeezed in between the robbers.

“Sometimes the driver would be the one to declare the heist or in most cases, he has cohorts who would board the taxicab along the way,” Mabanag told reporters in an interview.

“Using guns or bladed weapons, they would divest the belongings of the victim, including the (automated teller machine) card and its (personal identification number) before withdrawing its content,” he said.

According to Mabanag, established taxicab firms require driver applicants to submit clearance from the police or the National Bureau of Investigation.

“These big (taxi) companies have strict procedures in hiring cabbies... They even have radio systems to monitor the whereabouts of their taxi drivers,” Mabanag said.

“However, in cases of operators with just one or a few taxi units, they just hire drivers based on trust or in cases when their cabbie is recommending a buddy,” he said.

According to Mabanag, requiring documents from drivers applying to work for taxi operators could be a deterrent to criminals using the vehicles owned by legitimate taxi firms to rob passengers.

He said many “ipit taxi” incidents remain unreported because the victims were scared and failed to take note of the taxi’s plate number or the physical description of the robbers.