Taxi Cab Flagers/beggars

[Mr Lee]

:1 (235): I really do not know what else to call these guys who seem to earn a living waving down taxis for people?Why do the taxi drivers even pay these guys? How do they earn their spots on the public streets to flag down taxis? To me it seems to be ridiculous that a taxi driver would have to pay a guy on the street for you walking over to their parked taxi on your own. Now I can understand if they go out into the street and flag you down a passing taxi, but in front of Robinsons Mall or SM Malls in Cebu where there are taxis lined up and a person just walks over to one, why does the driver have to pay the guy who is just standing around doing nothing anyway? What in the culture makes hard working and often struggling taxi drivers give up even a small share of their hard earned pesos to give something to these people who are really not giving a service to the drivers or to the people who get into the taxi? :wt-hell: They do not even hold the door for people. In front of our condo there are almost always taxis lined up down the street and there is one older guy who looks much older than I am but in reality is probably close to my age, and he stands there and collects money from the drivers when a person walks out of our building and gets in the first available taxi. The weird part is to see this guy early in the morning almost sober and then by noon he can barely walk and then by dinner time he can barely stand and the drivers actually has to pull up to him to give him the peso or two because he would surely fall down if he had to walk to the taxi :shooter: and they seem forced to pay him for doing nothing. :wt-hell: Maybe they feel sorry for these people and it is really an art form of begging that has now become a science of earning for nothing? or maybe there is actually a reason the taxi driver feel compelled to give these guys money? but I sure do not see one and possibly the ones who hang out by our building have to pay for the privilege of doing so but since it is a public street, I just cannot understand it all and maybe someone out there in cyberspace can explain it all to me. :thumbs-up-smile:I now know what I want to be when I finally grow up. :lol: Heck it is surely an easy way to earn a living and tax free at that :yes: and I probably do not even have to have an ACR-I card to do it. :lol: Hey, I now figured out a way for Tom to move to Cebu :yes: all we have to do is make the guys in front of our condo building an offer they cannot refuse. :whistling: I bet we could buy the rights for just a few bottles of Tanduay and maybe some Tuba. :shooter:

[cebuexpat]

I have often asked this same question... He is what I have been told by taxi drivers and locals about this sisuation... Its kindly like a turf war or something like that... You will have one local who lives nearby to a certain area, who will take over a area where taxi parks or kids beg for money, or vendors come to.. They get it passed down from older generations, or they intimidate to get that area. Or even fight and push out the former holder of that area.Kindly like in wild, they do good until someone comes in and challenge them for their area.. Its kindly a unspoken rule, if that is a certain mans area, you have to pay him to use that area.. Even street children you see at intersections, if you will look closely they will be a older child or adult around close. The children have to pay a fee to him to beg at that intersection..... I assume if others come in, they have to get his permission to be in that area.Now I ask why and what power they have to do that... This is the crazy part..... NOTHING... They cant answer why they just don't tell him no, we will park here and this don't belong to you nor we have to pay you... It just seems they go along with it, like its just a normal thing.... I guess the same reason some people will just start living on a piece of land, and after a while they consider it theirs, and everyone agrees.. Even if they is no legal claim for that...Some taxi drivers have told me, that this payment also secures them a spot at that place. The one they pay will not let other drivers come in and occupy that very busy spot.. They are always kept a spot open by the caretaker of that area.....I know people who work in the Mango Square Area. Somewhat like taxi, they is one man is that area who is the " Mama-son" of most of the girls. If any girl wants to work in that area on regular basis, she must pay him a fee... If another " Mama-son " comes into that area, he must also ask permission and or pay a fee to be allowed there. I have seen some pretty brutal battles over this... This guy or "gay" stays in good with police officers and guards and keeps his position through contacts, intimidation, and just general respect... Until someone finds better contacts, and more fierce, or more older with lot more seniority in that industry, he keeps his spot.... If challenged by outsider or stranger, you will see things start to happen and threats against the intruder will be done.....I once witness a small boy, age of 10 or 12 who was always at this one certain parking lot to help park the cars and call for taxi's.. I seen three other boys of about the same age walking to wards him, one with a bottle. I ask a local guy what was happening.. He said the boy would not allow them in his area to help, so they are now going to challenge him... Being the only income for his family or himself, the battle was brutal, but the original boy put the other three on the run in short time... I ask the local guy what the young boy shouted as they run off. He said they boy shouted " Remember what you got here, and tell others this is my spot and if they try to take it they will met the same fate." LOL tuff little guy......

Edited April 30, 2010 by cebuexpat

[FlyAway]

Taxi flagers rank up there with the guys who help you find a seat on a bus. One demanded 100 peso's from me once. Gave him a 10 to leave me alone.

[United Army]

Taxi flagers rank up there with the guys who help you find a seat on a bus. One demanded 100 peso's from me once. Gave him a 10 to leave me alone.

I also do not understand why the taxi driver pays these guys. Sometime these guys will ask me for money for getting me a taxi when I could of flagged a taxi down myself, I tell them I could of gotten this taxi and then refuse to tip them..I never tip them!!!

[TheMason]

There a lot of petty gangs and quasi-criminal enterprises that control many businesses in the Philippines. They have connections with the authorities so they're allowed to extract small (and sometimes not so small) fees from anyone that wants to use or provide the service they control. Remember that incident about 6-8 months back when American and his Pinay wife getting their fishing boat shot up because they ran afoul of the local fishing mafia? The taxi flaggers are a small example, but its the same type of deal.Stuff like this happens all the time here because it is essentially a lawless society. If you know the right people or can intimidate others into letting you, you can do pretty much whatever you want here....including getting a few pesos from every taxi driver that picks up a fare on your turf. If the taxi driver refused to pay, you can bet the taxi flagger will remember him and make it hard for the driver to do business on 'his' corner again.

[Art2ro]

The bottom line is, that city ordinances aren't being enforced by local law enforcement and that is why beggars, checkers and or flaggers have their way where ever they can make a fast buck off taxi drivers, resident and or visiting foreigners! Nothing anyone can do until the local law enforcement can get their sh&t together and do their jobs!

[softail]

This clears up a mystery for me. When I am in Laguna and we are out and about in the car there are always these helpfull guys in the parking lots directing us to a parking spot or stopping other cars so we are able to back out without problems. My wifes nephew always gives them a few coins. I always thought these guys worked for the supermarket or whatever business we are at. Gad....sounds like they work for the mob Doug and Sally

[United Army]

There a lot of petty gangs and quasi-criminal enterprises that control many businesses in the Philippines. They have connections with the authorities so they're allowed to extract small (and sometimes not so small) fees from anyone that wants to use or provide the service they control. Remember that incident about 6-8 months back when American and his Pinay wife getting their fishing boat shot up because they ran afoul of the local fishing mafia? The taxi flaggers are a small example, but its the same type of deal.Stuff like this happens all the time here because it is essentially a lawless society. If you know the right people or can intimidate others into letting you, you can do pretty much whatever you want here....including getting a few pesos from every taxi driver that picks up a fare on your turf. If the taxi driver refused to pay, you can bet the taxi flagger will remember him and make it hard for the driver to do business on 'his' corner again.

After reading about ? gang turf, and petty gangs, I think I'll give these flaggers a coin or two. If a flagger is having a bad day, and I don't give him a coin or two I would not want to be shot for for just a stupid reason as not giving him 5 peso or so, just not worth the chance.

[Tom in Texas]

The "extortion and protection" racket is alive and well in every country in the world... including the USA... so why not the PI. In more developed nations, with better law enforcement, it is just not as easy an open an enterprise... thus, in more developed nations, the amounts paid for "protection" must be must larger to justify the risk of arrest. Tom in Texas

[BobNChe]

I will expound upon this more later! There is so much to it that it's a long explanation. There are about 4 different ways this happens. Some are legit, some are not.