Cabbie, bikers team up for holdup

MANILA, Philippines–An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who was on his way to catch a bus going to his girlfriend’s province was robbed of cash and other valuables worth about half a million pesos by a taxi driver and his motorcycle-riding accomplices in Pasig City on Monday, police said.

In his complaint, Jun Miciano, a Saudi Airlines aircraft mechanic, said he boarded a World taxi (RSN-968) that he flagged down at the corner of Ortigas Avenue and ADB Avenue in Barangay (village) San Antonio around 1 p.m. About 10 minutes later, the driver stopped the vehicle, a white Kia sedan, on Meralco Avenue and said he had accidentally hit a motorcycle in front of them.

Miciano, who was in the back seat, thought the cabbie would talk to the motorcycle driver and his companion when he unlocked the car’s doors.

Instead, the cabbie opened the door for the bike driver’s companion, who drew a pistol and declared the holdup upon getting into the vehicle. At this point, the taxi driver also threatened to stab Miciano with a screw driver.

With the taxi moving again and the motorcycle tailing it along Edsa, Miciano was forced to hand over P200,000 in cash, several pieces of jewelry and imported bags and shoes. He was released about 30 minutes later in front of a Banco de Oro branch in Cubao, Quezon City.

According to PO2 Ed Rommel Fajutag of the Pasig police, Miciano, a native of Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro, had just returned from abroad for the holidays and was on his way to catch a bus in Cubao going to his girlfriend’s hometown up north. The stolen cash was intended for the onion farming business that they were planning to put up, while the other items were supposedly Miciano’s Christmas presents for her family members.

A check with the Land Transportation Office showed that the taxi’s license plate as remembered by the victim was not registered and that the World taxi company doesn’t have a Kia in its fleet, Fajutag said.