Recent activities being organised by communist front organisations further exhibit the utter hypocrisy of Filipino “activists”. Whilst these bozos claim to be on the side of the masa, they “fight” on the side of the very community and industry that makes the lives of ordinary working Filipinos a living hell.
Jeepneys represent everything that is wrong with the Philippines. They are relics — no, perversions — of the Philippines’ colonial past. They are machines that are romanticised as examples of “Filipino ingenuity” but are, in reality, proof of the opposite and truer fact of the Philippines’ intellectual bankruptcy. Jeepney drivers are the worst drivers on Philippine roads. Their boorish and uncivic behaviours are tolerated by their fellow motorists with clenched jaws and they are given vast latitude by city bureaucrats to keep their unsafe, smoke belching, and dangerous vehicles on the road.
It baffles normal people to no end why these affronts to modern society have been tolerated by Filipinos for so long. Even worse, powerful elements backed by the nation’s wokedom and communist elements emotionally blackmail politicians to quash efforts to eradicate them for good. Current president Bongbong Marcos is one such politician. Under pressure from the Philippines’ “activist” mouthpieces, Marcos had softened his stance on jeepney modernisation. This is following messaging laced with bleeding heart “testimonials” from those “poor” folk who will supposedly be impacted by this initiative. Top newsletter of wokedom Rappler, for example, issued an article peppered with inserted quotes from jeepney drivers cherry picked from Manila’s streets and, of course, liberal use of references to the communist-infiltrated transport group Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON)…
| SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY! Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider! Learn more |
“The compulsory franchise consolidation is an entry point for the corporate capture of small-capacity public transport as only huge corporations have the financial capacity to purchase the required 15 minibuses to operate a single route without being buried in debt,” said PISTON in a statement.
Have mainstream media groups given enough space and bandwidth to news and op-ed pieces that weigh in on the matter from the perspective of ordinary commuters? Perhaps they did at one time or another. But not in these days when their top “opinion-shapers” are enjoined to be in “solidarity” with the “poor” jeepney drivers and rally behind their “plight”.
For some perspective, the Inquirer reports that there are roughly 100,000 jeepney operators in the Philippines of which “40,000 are in Metro Manila”. A recent study, on the other hand, estimates the total number of Filipinos who use jeepneys at almost 9 million. One can easily see the disconnect here. A cohort that accounts for just one percent of the population of stakeholders in this issue attracts the lion’s share of “activist” rhetoric.
Don’t you just hate these people?
To add insult to the decades-long injury of the Filipino commuting public is the way these “activists” paint romantic pictures around these derelict vehicles and the system they comprise. Inquirer columnist Anna Cristina Tuazon described them in a recent piece as if they were some sort of national treasure…
Culturally, the jeepney is known for its colorful and varied design, each operator making the jeepney truly their own. We see portraits of their loved ones as a reminder that behind each vehicle is a Filipino family. They proudly paint on words that inspire them and motivate them to keep going. Jeepney operators take great pains to rise above the chaotic mass on the streets and make sure that they were seen. The modernization program as it stands strips the jeepney of their individuality and washes away their stories.
Excuse me while I throw up.
This is classic tyranny of the shrill. Shrill people use dishonest appeals to emotion to ensure all the wrong arguments win. It’s time people with more level heads respond to them with a resounding shut up. As other countries in the region move on to bigger and better things, the Philippines remains imprisoned by its debilitating heritage of smallness. It’s time Filipinos put their collective foot down and put an end to this culture of mediocrity.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
Not only do I hate jeepneys, I also hate the Philippines. Corrupt idiots that think they are smart but are really stupid. The average IQ in the Philippines is 81 which is retardation. As far as I am concerned, I will make sure any and all US funds will cease. These idiots treated me like dirt and they had no idea who I am. Your country will crumble. I will personally see to that !
To answer your question: Yes they are a nuisance!
I am a regular commuter and also would drive if I can borrow the family car. My experiences with these are more tolerance at best while contempt at worst to the point of swearing.
While I appreciate this jeepney as a cheap public transport and 1 should be preserved as a historical and artistic piece in all Philippine museums and displays.
Its finally time for it this model to be junked!
The mainstream media uses the Appeal to Tradition viewpoint which shouldnt be used!
This Jeepney model is a symbol of bygone era for us. This was a mainstay for our roads before but after 50 years, it isnt needed as it was before. Our capital and the surrounding provinces are choked with these outdated mass transit options that dont help our issues with traffic and public transport.
These ‘victims’ are selfish, stubborn and lazy! Dont expect them to budge and even agree to a compromise because they like being victims.
Yes, I have hated them as they represent what is wrong and backward with our public transport system, to wit:
1. Those pesky drivers who do NOT follow traffic rules and regulations by overspeeding, making singit and swerving just to beat the traffic lights, to the detriment of public safety which is also part of their boundary system that needs to be equally outlawed;
2. Their poorly maintained units that are made from surplus/reconditioned diesel engines that have become pollutants in their own right–and become much costlier to maintain as these become so overused;
3. These same units whose pesky drivers do not even use their headlamps (but instead their signboard lamps behind their windshields) at night or even have brake lamps and turn signal indicators;
4. Those pesky drivers who really stink and are so unhygienic that they can even be carriers of diseases; and
5. The ‘hanggang dito lang ang alam namin’ attitude of both drivers and operators that hinders them from seeking other viable alternative solutions and changing their mindsets to make them much more pragmatic, holistic and more productive.
Need I say more? But all these are truly the very main reasons why these rolling coffins have to be phased out! Even though this may be done in phases, let there also be that political will to phase them out totally! And the commuting public truly deserves something better, cleaner and more efficient. Let the boundary system also be scrapped, and let these drivers be given regular salaries, complete with benefits as what is being done in other countries.
Don’t you just love it when slanderous expatriates get to tar even jeepney drivers previously supportive of Marcos-Duterte as fucking communists, all the while all but genuflecting at the power of actual avowed communists at the other side of the south China sea?
Putangina ninyo, mga sipsip sa diktaDURA, mga salot sa lipunan!
How is this slanderous? Jeepneys are garbage bins. Wanting to keep jeepneys on the streets are both backward and third world mentality.