TO MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS. I am re-posting an incident so that you are made aware again of the dangers of the streets of Manila. Pity indeed that we have a city that opens to hell. The dangers are real when an average 43,000 people (of 25M population) share oxygen in one square kilometer of space. These are only the man-made evils - not counting the disasters of dilapidated trains, reckless truck drivers, illegal buses, polluting jeepneys, and about constituents who, because of a debilitating environment, have lost the decencies of urbanity. I am angry and sad because Manila is the city of my birth. Please be careful, and pray! (tag: Jay Cathryn Fernandez Tolentino Siegfred Paul C. FernandezKatrina F. Olan Oscar Olan ) _____ From Gibbs Cadiz: PLEASE TAKE EXTRA CARE, EVERYONE. HERES WHAT HAPPENED TO AN OFFICE MATE A FEW NIGHTS AGO. Hi, everyone. Im posting this as a warning to people who are taking cabs. I was in a taxi hold-up incident a week ago, involving three men who took my cell phone, cash and cards. I was taken and driven around Metro Manila from Makati to Fairview, while they threatened and intimidated me. People have offered to help me go after the criminals, but right now I dont have the energy for it. Ive used a lot of energy and strength to stay focused and survive that cab ride, so now Im easily tired. At times, drained. Im also very frustrated with the state of public safety in the Philippines. I am unharmed, but in trauma. Im scared of long drives, dark roads, cabs. Ive been functioning and working, but jumpy and anxious. The emotions took a while to sink in (never cried in the cab). Im doing counseling, and I hope to recover in time. Ive also been needing shawls and jackets because those give me a sense of security. Im very thankful to family and friends who have been supporting me. If you want to help me, please pray for me. If sharing among your family and friends, please cut and paste on your wall. I prefer to be anonymous since they have my identification. INCIDENT REPORT: I hailed a taxi in Chino Roces Avenue (Pasong Tamo), Makati, past 12 midnight of Aug. 9, 2014. I instructed the driver to take me to Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, via Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia). He drove through Chino Roces to Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia), but turned left on Malugay Street. Sensing something was wrong, I asked him to take Jupiter. Then he declared, “hold up ’to, huwag kang sisigaw,” while were along Centro Escolar University. Two other men got inside the taxi; one sat beside me at the backseat and placed his arms around me, the other one sat beside the driver. I screamed and scrambled, trying to get out. Someone shouted: Huwag kang sumigaw. Makisama ka lang, walang mangyayari sa yo. The man in the front seat immediately got my bag and took all my cash, cards and cell phone. We drove around, and the man in front got off what I could recall might be Roxas Boulevard. The man at the back had his arms around me all the time, commanding me to keep my eyes down at all times. He told me that if anyone sensed something, say, we pass by a checkpoint, I should tell people that he is my boyfriend. We drove around while they coordinated with a man who withdrew money from using my ATM cards. (Investigation says withdrawals were made in PSBank Greenfield City branch.) I gave them all the pin numbers. They threatened and intimidated me, saying: “Makisama ka lang, walang mangyayari sa ’yo.” “Marunong ka ba mag-drive? Kinarnap lang naming ’to, hindi ko nga alam kung buhay pa ’yong driver sa likod.” “Ma’am maraming salamat sa tulong ninyo. Huwag ka ng manghinayang. Pera lang naman ’yan, kikitain mo rin ’yan, stable naman yata trabaho mo.” “Papababain ka namin, pero ’wag kang sisigaw, tatakbo o magsusumbong, mababaril ka.” “Mababait naman kami, kailangan lang talaga namin. Pero siyempre bago kami masaktan, ikaw muna.” After over an hour of driving and threatening, they released me around 2 a.m., near SM Fairview. I got off the cab, held by the man seated beside me. We were met by another man (who might have been trailing us from another vehicle, and might also be the man who did the withdrawal). He gave me money for fare after I got off the cab. The other man, still with his arms around me, hailed an Alabang bus, and asked me to board it. Another guy got in and sat at the back, he got off Shaw Boulevard. I got back to Makati around 3 a.m., shaken but thankful to be alive. I have reported the incident to Makati Police afternoon of Aug. 9, and the case is under investigation. I’ve identified the taxi as Dean Taxi ETC818, but it has no hit in the LTO according to the police investigator handling the case.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 07:21:55 +0000
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