I was on my way home riding an FX taxi from the ASLP seminar on ICT for Libraries when a man boarded the taxi at the corner of Taft and Quirino Ave. squeezing himself in the middle row and sat next to me. I was deep in thought wrapping up today's event for the ASLP website and for my column for Manila Bulletin I had no idea my seatmate was dipping his hands into my bag already.
The couple beside me called out to the driver to stop which pulled me back to my senses. As I moved my bag, I noticed that the zipper was half open. I felt for my cellphone, zipped up my bag, made a gesture with my hand, and looked at the man beside me. I did all these in a matter of seconds. The man, acting innocently, withdrew his hand pretending to retrieve his ID. Then I told him to open the door as I was getting out. To my surprise, he also got off the taxi without paying his fare when earlier he showed no intention of doing so. He hurriedly crossed Taft Ave. and as I was following him with my eyes I saw him looking at a bus. When the coast was clear, I didn't see any sign of him and assumed he took a bus to the opposite direction.
Thanks to my hairbrush and my shades which was cramped in my bag, my cellphone wasn't taken. He must have had a hard time feeling for and pulling out my phone because the bristles got in the way. I was profusely thanking my angels for sparing me from what would have been a nerve wracking experience.
Lesson learned: be vigilant and extra careful especially inside public utility vehicles. These are tough times, indeed.
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