MALATE, MANILA — I normally don’t trust taxi drivers. More so since I’ve had a number of bad experiences inside those yellow cabs.
I remember I was about five years old when I witnessed how a taxi driver in Manila forced my father to leave his attaché case in the cab. In Cagayan de Oro, I caught a cab driver opening my bag just as I was starting to doze off; he eventually stole my pocket money for travel. For a very short ride (just about a kilometer) from the Zamboanga airport to the UCCP compound there, I was forced to pay P300 by a cab driver who pretended I had provoked him. Of course, I got scared. Another airport taxi driver in Butuan stole my new pair of Habagat shoes which was inserted on the side pockets of my backpack.
And as I shared with people in the dorm my various bad taxi-riding experience in Cebu, they also started sharing their own stories of being victimized by Cebu taxi drivers.
Another time in Manila while riding a cab, the driver suddenly volunteered to help me with my luggage when we reached our destination. He must have been eavesdropping as I was talking on the phone about being alone in the condo.
So you can imagine why I’m always paranoid when riding taxis. But after reading Og Mandino’s story of how he saved a taxi driver from suicide — who also saved him in an unexpected manner — I started looking at cab drivers more positively, and I always made an effort to befriend them during each ride.
On this one particular taxi ride to Quezon City, I noticed the book Excellence in Leadership lying on the dashboard of the cab. Whenever there was heavy traffic and we had to stop a long time, the driver would pick it up to apparently resume reading from where he left off. He was making good use of his time while stuck in traffic.
That got us into a conversation. The cab driver’s name was Ferdinand de Quintos Castro. I asked what inspired him to read that particular book by John White, and he explained he used to be a salesman, and that he wants to continue learning from inspirational authors.
He was aspiring to go into insurance marketing. He had just completed a training session with an insurance company. Incidentally, one of the previous passengers also noticed his interest in reading, and enrolled him in that training.
He also asked me about my work in the university and then he gave his calling card.
Then I asked him how I could go to Kawit, Cavite since I wanted to witness the Philippine Independence Day celebration in this historic town.
He replied: “I can actually take you there for free if I would decide to go home that day.”
So I learned he was born and raised in Kawit. His parents and family live there to this day. He would go home on long weekends. Then he said he could tell his parents to have me in their house as guest. And proceeded to give me their home address.
What a blessing! I was just so pleasantly surprised that Filipino hospitality is very much alive even in urban Manila. I was so excited I could finally go to Kawit; I immediately gave him my contact number.
Then as we reached my destination in QC, I paid my taxi fare and hurriedly got off the cab as a long line of cars was starting to build up behind us.
I was busy working on the visa requirements of international students at the Student Desk of the Bureau of Immigration in QC that I didn’t realize I was missing something from my bag. Later in the afternoon, I received a call from “Ferdinand, the taxi driver”, informing me that I had dropped my wallet inside his cab! He assured me he would return it with all its contents intact (including my pocket money of over P4,000). He asked me to just wait until he would be off from driving as he still had calls from passengers requesting for his services.
Then I was having dinner with friends from Ballet Philippines when Ferdinand called again to return the wallet. My friends witnessed the lengths the driver had to go through just to return a wallet left by a passenger who didn’t even know that he had lost it.
We asked him to join us in our dinner, and he accepted our invitation. My friends had nothing but praises for his rare act of honesty. They also observed how humble and courteous Ferdinand was, as he was trying to be comfortable with us.
When it was time to go, Ferdinand offered to drive me to Shalom Center where I was billeted, and Rej (the queen-behind-the-queen of Ballet Philippines) to Makati. I insisted to pay our fares as the cash reward was a different matter altogether. I now think the reward was not even enough for the kindness that he did; Ferdinand deserves a never-ending salute for that golden act of honesty.
As he drove us home that evening, I got more curious about the person who would find it a decent job to drive people around. I learned that Ferdinand is also a family one. Even after his wife left him for another man, Ferdinand continues to provide for his children and grandchildren as a single father. A sister offered to buy him a taxi so he could have a regular income.
After driving long hours at night, he would park briefly in a gasoline station to catch a nap, before starting another day. The hard life does not discourage him as he finds refuge reading God’s word for inspiration.
He also asked me questions about parenting and childhood behavior when he learned that my field is psychology.
As I reached my destination at Shalom Center in Malate, Ferdinand smiled, and said, “This is a Christian home!” He recalled how, when he was still a salesman, he had successful contracts with the UCCP at the main headquarters along EDSA.
This last bit of information somehow completed the image of a trustworthy man. This new discovery of a Christian brother would mean more taxi rides which would hopefully include a trip to Kawit to enjoy the celebration of our country’s freedom day.
Mabuhay ang Filipino! Mabuhay si Ferdinand! No, not the old man in history books but Ferdinand de Quintos Castro, the honest taxi driver.
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Author’s email: karlmike@yahoo.com
