Philippine government issues statement following taxi scam of SEVENTEEN’s Joshua in Manila

The Philippines’ Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has shared an official statement following reports of SEVENTEEN’s Joshua being scammed by a taxi driver in Manila last month.

• READ MORE: SEVENTEEN – ‘Face the Sun’ review: seven years in, the K-pop stars are determined not to flame out

In a livestream, the singer opened up about several mishaps he experienced during a spontaneous trip to Manila with his mother in September. This included being charged more than PHP1,000 – three times the correct fare – for a taxi ride.

After the K-pop idol’s revelation went viral online, the LTFRB released a statement on October 8 condemning such violations. “Mariing kinokondena ng LTFRB ang pang-aabuso ng mga Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) drivers sa labis na paniningil ng pamasahe sa kanilang mga pasahero (The LTFRB strongly condemns PUV drivers overcharging their passengers),” the statement says.

The LTFRB added: “Kailanman ay hindi katanggap-tanggap sa LTFRB ang ganitong panloloko ng mga PUV drivers sa kanilang mga pasahero – lokal man o dayuhan (The LTFRB will never accept such fraud by PUV drivers to their passengers – whether it’s a local or a foreigner).”

The statement ended with a reminder that such violations will be met by punishment in accordance with law. The agency also encouraged the public to report similar incidents in the future.

LTFRB statement condemning the overcharging incident KPop group SEVENTEEN member Joshua Hong experienced in Metro Manila.

According to Joshua, a taxi driver charged him thrice more than what should have been paid. | via @jacquemanabatpic.twitter.com/mHyzY2mhzQ

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) October 8, 2022

Last weekend, SEVENTEEN performed for the Filipino fans for the two-day Manila leg of their ‘Be The Sun’ world tour. The tour will then head over to Singapore on October 13, followed by three showcases in Japan in November and December.

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