Makati deploys FX taxi marshals

MANILA, Philippines -  Reacting to calls to take action against robbers preying on passengers of FX taxis in Makati City, city police chief Senior Superintendent Froilan Bonifacio said yesterday they will deploy “secret marshals” to help protect commuters.

Bonifacio said the police officers from the Makati Anti-Crime Unit will be in civilian attire to blend in with the passengers and not alarm the robbers. “We will pattern this after the bus marshals of the National Capital Region Police Office. But unlike the bus marshals, the FX marshals will be undercover,” he said.

Bonifacio said intelligence officers from the Makati police have also begun networking with the operators of FX taxis that pickup passengers from various terminals across the city after office hours.

Bonifacio is confident the networking between police and the FX taxi operators, in addition to the deployment of secret marshals, will be more than enough to counter the robberies inside FX taxis.

Earlier, lawyer Ernesto Francisco urged the Makati police to go after the FX taxi robbers after one of his friends, who works at a Makati firm, was victimized.