Just the other day, an incident went viral where a modern jeepney conductor named Richard Amor verbally abused a female student named Lanimae Mag-aro in Bacolod City, threatening to harm her after charging her double fare due to her size.
This incident caused embarrassment and trauma for Lanimae, especially since there were many passengers who heard what the conductor said. It quickly spread on social media and local radio stations, eventually reaching the office of the Bacolod City mayor, who promptly took action. The operator and the involved conductor were summoned, with the conductor expressing remorse and apologizing for his actions. He was subsequently suspended from his job.
The operator also promised to provide thorough training for their drivers and conductors to prevent such incidents from happening again. Mayor Benitez called on passengers to be vigilant and report any misbehavior by conductors to avoid a repeat of such events.
However, just yesterday, a minor sibling of Kenah Tumbagan received a threat from a conductor and Kenah expressed her dismay in a post, claiming that the conductor verbally abused and threatened her 16-year-old sister’s boyfriend. According to Kenah, around 2 PM while they were waiting for a jeepney in front of GAISANO, the modern jeep stopped in front of them. The minor told the conductor, ‘It’s already crowded, manong,’ “GUTOK MANA NONG” to which the conductor replied, ‘TAXI KAMO E.’ The minor then responded with, ‘AYOS AH.’ Subsequently, the conductor got off the jeep and told them, ”BASTOS KA NGA G*GO KA KARUN” and threatened to punch the young boy. Because they were only 16 years old, both of them were frightened and traumatized by the incident.
As a result, the sibling was concerned and sought help from Councilor Israel Salanga, a councilor in their city, to address the incident, as they believed that such treatment was undeserved for young individuals. There has been no action taken on this complaint yet, but it has already garnered over a thousand shares and may lead to further action.