Real embarrassment to Philippine tourism

This has reference to the comment made by Edward B. Contreras in his letter (“Cabbies can help PH tourism campaign,” Opinion, 4/22/15) regarding cab drivers in Metro Manila who are an embarrassment to the Philippine tourism industry. It’s unfortunate that the behavior of one or two taxi drivers becomes the reflection of all cab drivers in the metro. ’Wag naman sana nating lahatin (Let’s not put them all in one basket).

I am a witness to an emerging breed of taxi drivers who are well-meaning do-gooders, whose main objective is to make an honest living and help people in their own little ways, without expecting anything in return. This may sound like a dream, but it’s true.

Almost daily we hear stories in the news about corruption in our society, involving government officials despite their fat salaries and big perks. That, for me, is the true embarrassment to our tourism industry.

On the other hand, taxi drivers, who make ends meet barely enough, are not swayed by temptation and troop to our station, Radyo 5, almost every day, to return valuable items left behind by their passengers. The items returned range from jewelry worth millions of pesos to hard cash in the hundreds of thousands of pesos, to brand-new laptops and high-end cell phones, etc. As a matter of fact, I refer to them as “mga bayani ng ating lansangan.”

Yes, I agree with Contreras: There are many honest taxi drivers in Cagayan de Oro City as well as, I am sure, in other provinces. But let me tell you this, based on my personal experience, I believe that there are just as many, if not more, honest taxi drivers here in Metro Manila.

Mabuhay tayong mga Pilipino!

—RAFFY TULFO, [email protected]