After the post by Lanimae Joy Libo-on Mag-aro went viral, wherein she was body-shamed by a modern jeepney conductor, many people sympathized with her and were outraged at what the conductor had done. Local radio stations even interviewed the said conductor, who explained his side of the story. However, in Lanimae’s Facebook post yesterday, the victim was no longer satisfied with the conductor’s statement, as it seemed like he was blaming her, claiming that it was just a joke and implying that if it hadn’t been posted on social media, nothing would have happened. She wanted to serve as an example for those who have experienced the same thing, encouraging them to have courage.
Lanimae was traumatized because she did not expect such an encounter during her jeepney ride, especially with many passengers who heard what conductor Richard Amor said. He charged her double the fare, allegedly due to her size, covering two seats. He insisted that she get out of the vehicle, which led her to cry out of embarrassment, feeling like she might melt from shame. Some passengers were also shocked and expressed their concern, which Lanimae thanked them for.
Yesterday, Richard was summoned along with the owner of RSJ Lines, where he explained himself and issued an apology. The owner of RSJ also promised to orient their employees to prevent such incidents from happening again and suspended Richard as a consequence of the incident.
With courage, Richard Amor revealed his face on social media and apologized to Lanimae, stating that he did not intend to hurt her feelings, saying, ‘Ma’am, good day, I apologize for my mistake I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings’. “Ma’am good day pasinsiya na sang sala ko semo Indi ko hungod sakiton ang balatiyagon mo.”
Despite this, many netizens continue to bash him and express their disappointment in what he did.
Hopefully, this incident will serve as a lesson and discourage others from following a similar path.