A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO (DEC. 23), I wrote that the Land Transportation Office had warned commuters about tampered taxi meters. I said the story, unfortunately, did not mention how the batingting, the device used by unscrupulous drivers to jack up the fare, worked.

Denny B. Muñoz of DZRJ-AM 810KHZ/Radyo Bandido RJ (UR)-FM 105.9 very kindly shared this information. The broadcaster said he also took a cab every day to and from work so he had managed to learn some of the ?secrets? of batingting.

Commuters might want to take note and learn from Muñoz?s experience.

1) If the driver is always using his signal light even if he is not making a turn, the batingting is connected to the signal light. When he blows the horn for no apparent reason, wonder no more.

2) If the driver is always applying the brakes, again for no apparent reason, the batingting is connected to the brake pedal.

3) If the driver?s right hand does not leave the stick shift, the batingting is under the rubber boot of the gear lever.

Muñoz said some drivers did not even bother to be subtle about the cheating, connecting the batingting to the kilometer gauge of the taxi meter (upper right display). He said while the gauge should be registering every kilometer traveled as 1, 2, 3, etc., a tampered meter would be ?counting? in fives?5, 10, 15...

Muñoz said, during a trip from Merville, Parañaque to Makati Avenue (via Edsa/Rockwell/P. Burgos), the meter registered 249 kilometers. ?That?s almost halfway to Bicol in the south or Tarlac in the north,? he said.

Muñoz said the most common location for the batingting was in the floorboard. The driver manipulates the switch with his left foot.

He added that many white cabs with Valenzuela City prominently painted on the doors had meters that could give Michael Schumacher a run for his money. He alleged many of the taxis were colorum but were reportedly protected by a military officer.

Muñoz also said the batingting was being installed on a street behind LTO on East Avenue in Quezon City. ?For P150, drivers can choose if they want to add P10, P20, P30 to the authorized fare,? he said.

Post-holiday shopping

No doubt the holiday season drained not just people?s energy but their cash as well. Credit cardholders who may have to make unavoidable big ticket purchases so soon after the holidays will be happy to know that several establishments offer deferred payment options at zero-percent interest depending on the amount and the number of installments the customer prefers.

At Robinsons Department Store, for instance, holders of major credit cards can pay a minimum purchase of P3,000 in six equal monthly installments at zero-percent interest.

The Bank of the Philippine Islands Express Credit Card said its cardholders could avail of its special installment payment (SIP) scheme in a wide variety of establishments ranging from department stores to appliance sellers, and even specialty stores.

The company has partnered with more than 500 establishments, some are even outside Metro Manila. These include the Abenson chain, Ace Hardware, Ambassador, Ambiance One, Anne Klein, Anson Emporium, Ark Travel Express Inc., Asian Eye Institute, Automatic Centre, Baby Co., Bayo, Beauty Bar, Belo Medical, Big & Small, Blims Fine Furniture, Camerahaus, Canon, Columbia, Compex, Complink, Crossings Department Store, Debenhams, Dentista Inc., Dermatics Skin Health, DG Alahas, Ear Diagnostics, Enderun Colleges Inc., Executive Optical, Fruits & Passion, Furla Boutique, Gift Gate, Globe Telecom, Golds Gym, Handyman, Havin? a Baby, House of Obagi, Insular Life, Izod, JB Music and Sports, John Robert Powers, Kultura, Lush, Makeroom, Manila Hearing Aid, Makro, Max?s Restaurant, Medical City, Medicard Phils. Inc., Metropolitan Scuba Stop, Nokia Store-Podium, Novacell (Nokia), Octagon, Office 1, Office Warehouse, Olympic Village, Osim Health, Our Home, PC Express, Pink Paws Pet Salon, Pujalte Dental Clinic, Regent Travel Corp., RJ Guitar, Royal Duty Fee Shop-Subic, Rustans Department Store, Rusty Lopez, S&R Membership Shopping, Save More, Scan & Print, Shopwise Silicon Valley, Singer Phils.-Makati, Slimmers World, SM Appliance, SM Department Store, SM Supermarket, Sogo Home & Office Center, Sony Ericsson-Robinsons Galleria, Sports House, St. Luke?s Medical Center, St. Patrick?s Medical, Standard Insurance, SM Hypermarket, Swatch, The Landmark Corporation, The Travel Club, Toy Kingdom, Toys R Us, Triumph, VMV Hypoallergenics, Waltermart, Watsons, Wilcon Builders, Y&S Dental, Zara, and Zunic Health & Beauty.

Ask BPI Express Card or your card issuer for names of merchants with the deferred payment scheme. Or ask the store itself if you want to keep your cash for other things and pay light.

Send letters to The Consumer, Lifestyle Section, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1098 Chino Roces Ave. cor. Mascardo and Yague Sts., 1204 Makati City; fax 8974793-94; or e-mail lbolido@inquirer.com.ph.