Taxis required to issue receipts next year

MANILA, Philippines – Taxis will be required to issue receipts to passengers next year. Chairman Thompson Lantion of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board said Thursday the implementation of the system would be gradual so that taxi operators would not be burdened. He said improvised receipts would be allowed for a month as long as the fare and length of travel were indicated. “Pag sila ay nagpapa-conduct ng resealing na starting January hahanapin ng ating tanggapan yung kanilang meter receipt. Pwedeng nakasama na sa kanilang makina dun o kaya dun sa metro nila. Pumayag kami sa gano’n gradually lang ang implementation (When they go to our office for meter resealing starting January, we will check the receipts. The receipts could come from taximeters or could be manually produced)," Lantion said. By February 2009, taxi operators would be required to use receipt-issuing taximeters, Lantion said. Receipts should include these pieces of information: name of the taxi, the fare, the date, contact number of the taxi, and tax identification number (TIN). Reacting to the announcement, cab operators said the system would only add to their economic burden. An independent operator told GMA News that replacing their regular meter would cost them P15,000 to P18,000. "Napakabigat niyan para sa isang driver operator na mag-produce kami ulit ng P15,000 to P20,000 para doon sa resibo eh hindi naman ganon kalakas ang pasahe (It would be a heavy burden for us to produce another P15,00 to P20,000 for the receipt because the market is not doing well)," said Elmer Guilas, an independent taxi driver and operator. The Association of Taxi Operators of Manila also hit the new system. Leonora Naval, president of Association of Taxi Operators of Manila, said she does not see the need to use the receipt-issuing taximeters since they are on a boundary basis and not on commission-basis. Naval, however, said they would comply with the new LTFRB regulation. - A.B. See, GMANews.TV