Social media was abuzz over reports of an Igorot man who was supposedly not allowed to board a Solid North Transit bus by a prejudiced driver just because he was wearing tribal attire which, in this case, is a bahag or a piece of loincloth.
A lot of people slammed the bus driver and called for the suspension of his driver’s license as well as for the cancellation of the company’s franchise – although the latter seems to harsh a punishment for the case, if ever there was one at all.
Read the full story here:
Racist Driver Earns Netizens’ Anger for Allegedly Refusing an Old Igorot Wearing Traditional Attire
But while many got mad at the driver, many accused the uploader of making up a story to become viral. Dhrins Napeek certainly went viral and had to release an explanation for his photos when people bashed him for the ‘fabricated’ story.
The story had gotten out of hand and Solid North Transit received the brunt of the hate, with several netizens even calling on others to boycott the company. This prompted the company to speak up.
Buzz Definitely Filipino messaged the bus company and received the following reply:
Magandang araw po sa lahat,
Ang pamunuan ng Pangasinan Solid North Transit Inc. ay lubos na humihingi ng paumanhin sa pangyayaring ito. Bagamat hindi pa namin lubusang nakukuha ang kabuuang detalye ng pangyayaring ito, makakaasa po kayo na ito ay aming masusing iimbestigahan at kailan man ay hindi namin pinapayagan ang mga ganitong gawain.
Muli kami po ay humihigi ng paumanhin.
Maraming salamat po sa inyong pang unawa at sa patuloy na pagtangkilik sa aming serbisyo.
Netizen Hitomo Maki also messaged the company and got a more detailed reply:
Photos from RachFeed
We are thankful that the company is looking into this matter. Let’s wait and see what will be the outcome of the investigation, especially with several passengers also coming to the bus company’s defense and telling their side of the story.
