KM Viray
Another case of a GrabTaxi driver allegedly using a chemical spray was shared on social media. This follows other recent incidents involving GrabTaxi drivers with the same modus operandi.
READ: Taxi Passenger escapes alleged drugging attempt
Netizen Deej Dayola shared her experience en route to her home when she rode in a GrabTaxi vehicle. Dayola went to SM Makati to take her usual route home from her office. At 6:41 p.m., she went to a GrabTaxi kiosk to book a taxi. She was assigned driver Joel Lapira with GrabTaxi vehicle plate number UVP 906.
Dayola stated that it took 10 minutes before he arrived at SM Makati as the staff said the taxi was coming from the Manila Peninsula. When the driver arrived, the GrabTaxi staff accompanied Dayola to the taxi and checked the driver’s mobile phone before sending him off.
The taxi was tuned in to the TV Patrol radio simulcast and through the loud volume, Dayola twice heard the sound of spraying. She looked at the driver and saw nothing different, but after 10 minutes, she heard the spraying sound again. She smelled a weird scent and her fingers started to feel numb. Starting to be alarmed, Dayola held on to her bag tighter and sent the taxi details to her mother.
READ: Another netizen escapes being allegedly drugged by GrabTaxi driver
As they turned left on Makati Avenue, she again heard the spraying sound and started to have difficulty in breathing. Dayola felt dizzy but she managed to hold on to her bag and check the door lock, silently thanking her lucky stars that it wasn’t a child-proof lock. Dayola called the first number on her phone registry which happened to be their home landline number. The call didn’t go through but she pretended she was talking to her mom and made up the idea that she was having issues in Greenbelt and needed to be picked up immediately. The whole time she was having the pretend conversation, Dayola could no longer feel her hands and was struggling to breathe.
Dayola asked the driver to drop her off at Ayala Stock Exchange while opening the door even if the taxi was still moving. The driver even told her, “Sure ka Maam bababa ka na?… [Are you sure you’re getting off here?]”. Dayola replied, “Oo itigil mo dto na ko sa underpass eto 100 dto nko (sic) [Yes, I’ll get off here by the underpass. Here’s P100.]”
As if proof that something was really happening to her body, Dayola almost dropped her wallet and had to look very closely at the paper bill she was handing to the driver to make sure she was indeed paying just P100.
Dayola tried calling their home again until her mother answered. Dayola was still struggling to breathe and trying to compose herself while telling her mother about the incident. She then tried calling the GrabTaxi Hotline, but no one was answering her call and was out on hold for about 15 minutes. She sent an email complaint instead. A representative got back to Dayola within an hour and called to discuss what happened. They acknowledged her complaint and requested that she take a medical test to determine if she really inhaled a chemical substance.
Dayola, however, was too shaken up to go to a hospital and with heavy rains and heavy traffic, to go the a hospital would have been almost unbearable. The GrabTaxi staff just rearranged for her to take the test the following morning.
Dayola later had a checkup with an Internal Medicine doctor at St. Luke’s Medical Center who requested an ABG blood test to check for levels of oxygen, carbon dioxide, etc. inhaled and some other blood tests. Dayola commended the GrabTaxi staff for their immediate action regarding issue and taking her to the hospital. Dayola promised to post the test results as soon as she got them.
As for the driver, Dayola was informed that the driver Joel Lapira has been suspended and was in custody for questioning. Lapira, apparently, had already been with the company for more than a year.
With the medical results yet to be released and an investigation to be conducted, Dayola, in the meantime, warns other commuters like herself to remain vigilant and to keep a clear head as possible in times of trouble.
