Joy Adalia
A foreigner who did not wish to be named encountered a problem along SLEX, narrates Top Gear Philippines. After getting a flat tire while driving along the freeway, he managed to stop at the Cabuyao area where two policemen approached him.
At first, he thought they were going to help. He was asked whether he knows how to speak Tagalog. When he said, “no”, the cops then asked whether he was a foreigner. When he admitted he’s a foreigner, they told him he has to give them money before they will give him any form of assistance.
An SLEX guard who was watching the exchange wordlessly changed the tires. After he was done, he did not ask money from the foreigner but simply went back to his post.
The 2 policemen, who did not even help the SLEX guard change the tires, then asked the foreigner for money. They told him he had illegally parked by the roadside, so he must pay them. Because the cops would not let him go, the foreigner was forced to give them money.
He now wants to thank the SLEX guard who assisted him.
Photo credit: Top Gear Philippines
After the story went viral, several netizens voiced their anger over how the foreigner was treated on SLEX. Others vouched for him, saying they had encountered similar incidents while driving along SLEX.
There were some who were skeptic about the whole story, pointing out that people first ask a person if he/she is a foreigner before asking whether he/she speaks Tagalog. However, there were those who refuted that, saying there are foreigners who actually look like Pinoys and could easily be mistaken as one – so, the cops might ask whether he/she knows how to speak Tagalog because that person might be from another province with a different language. Others are saying there’s no big deal in what question was asked first because the point in the story was that the man was extorted.
If the story was true as the foreigner claimed, it is sad how the policemen refused to help him without any money involved. Kudos to the SLEX guard for the Good Samaritan deed.
So where’s the picture of the two policemen? He was able to picture the slex guard but was not able to picture the two policemen? The story said that while the slex guard was changing tires the two policemen continue to extort money. Looking upon the reflection on the car, it seems the owner of the car is in the picture but not the two policemen. So how true is this story? The story should be verified as it is very easy to spread hoaxes in the internet.