Ignoring them to death?

Ignoring a problem does not necessarily make it go away, but that may be the current strategy of government officials regarding what to do with thousands of traditional jeepneys and drivers that they really don’t want back on the streets, because the government’s priority is modernization. I respect and support the government’s aspiration or goal toward removing all the dilapidated and polluting jeepneys on the road, and in one way or another humbling and disciplining the often unruly if not reckless kings of the road in the Philippines. However, no government program or project should come at the expense of human beings, their quality of life and their livelihood regardless of their status, even jeepney drivers. Transport officials should not hide behind the policy of social distancing in order to distance themselves from addressing the question of what has to be done with jeepneys and jeepney drivers. Ignoring them to death or hanggang mamatay sila ng gutom is not the answer.

Many of them are residents of Metro Manila, so it would be stupid to think that if government ignores them long enough, they might all decide to go away or go into another line of work. Yes, some have gone to the provinces, but they are a small minority. If government wants to modernize jeepneys then the DOTr and Malacañang must address two main concerns: where will the jeepney drivers and operators get the money to buy hundreds of modern units that cost P2 million a pop? The next question is what will be done with the hundreds if not thousands of old or traditional jeepneys that will no longer be allowed on the roads.

Zeny Maranan, the president of FEJODAP (Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines) told me that a few years ago there were talks in Congress about government buying the old units ranging from P30,000 for the bulok or dilapidated units and P200,000 for the less rundown units. Being a car restorer of sorts, those prices are reasonable because all the iron and sheet metal on one jeepney would earn close to 30K at the junkyard. The ones in better shape could actually be restored as “museum pieces” to be displayed all over the country in parks or schools where people or kids can eat and be reminded of Filipino ingenuity. Here in Barrio Kapitolyo there is actually a restaurant where customers used to eat inside jeepneys just like in the Jeepney Bar of the former Inter Continental Hotel in Makati. The Manila Peninsula acquired a made to order jeepney as part of their campaign to promote the Philippines abroad and uses the air-conditioned jeepney as a “localized Limo.”

Some people might jump in and oppose the idea of paying for the jeepneys, so let me stop you there and point out that both the national government and many local governments are paying Squatters or illegal settlers P15 – 20 – 30 thousand per family and by law are also required to provide land or relocation facilities and Lipat Bahay trucks in order to get them out of land they illegally occupied! The jeepney drivers are providing a vital service to the public, paying for fuel and parts therefore supporting mini economies such as carinderias, providing scholarship funds to corrupt traffic enforcers and paying for license and registration to the LTO, while operators pay for franchise etc., to the LTFRB. So it is only fair that they be given compensation for taking away or banning their means of livelihood.

If like me you have long complained about the reckless kings of the road and their rolling coffins, it might be good to take a few steps back and ask whose fault is it that our iconic jeepneys and drivers turned into our modern day nightmare and annoyance? It is and always has been the fault of the government, past and present. The departments, agencies and authorities responsible for keeping things in order did not do their jobs. They treated jeepneys and jeepney drivers as small fry, took pity on some, held many in contempt but exploited or extorted them nonetheless. The fact is it is so easy and convenient to dump on the “least”, the lowest in the ladder of society, or those who are too busy trying to feed their families that they don’t have time to fight corruption in city after city that they drive past. So they just bribe their way through by giving peso after peso at every intersection. Anywhere you see tattooed individuals handing out cheap face towels or Sampaguita garlands, there is extortion and bribery taking place. Total the number of drivers and the amount paid repeatedly, every day and add it up for 365 days and you will realize that it’s not a piso-piso racket. They extort millions from drivers! The jeepney drivers don’t have the sophistication to fight for their rights as laborers or employees so they quietly live with being branded as part of the “underground economy.” Yes the kings of the roads and their jeepneys pollute the air, but who crafted the broken and deficient clean air act? Who draws up the boundary lines for routes while never even riding jeepneys as a passenger or observer, the same people who now want to shut down jeepneys without just compensation and assistance to transition. The government wants to modernize. They want their cake and to eat it too without paying a single peso for modernization.

In the meantime they are ignoring the plight of the jeepney drivers. Is the government’s strategy all about “ignoring them to death?”

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