Jeepneys: Are They Ever Plying the Roads Again?

I think we have to say good bye to the traditional jeepney--though I wish I were wrong. I heard in the news last night that they're studying whether the transport crisis today needs back up from the old jeepney units. If not, then their phaseout is final. It's so sad that something like this has to happen. [Picture above from this site].

I love jeepneys. Well, I admit that old, dysfunctional and trashy ones should be phased out, but not the traditional look of the jeepney. If the thing runs good and is in tiptop shape, why not let it ply the roads? Instead, they changed jeepneys to mean minibuses. I don't know whose bright idea it is to call those white minibuses jeepneys. THEY ARE NOT. They're minibuses.

They're Not Jeepneys

Jeepneys are different. Anybody with commonsense knows that. Ang jeepney hango doon sa mga army jeeps na iniwan ng mga Kano after Word War II. Yung ang history nun. The white minibuses we see today are in no way connected to that, so they shouldn't be called jeepneys. Why can't they just call them minibuses? Kaninong IQ nanggaling na jeepneys yon?

Pag tagal ng panahon, mawawala na sa kamalayan ng mga kabataan ang tunay na jeepney. Dagdag sa kamang-mangan yan. Andami na ngang di alam ng mga kabataan ngayon tungkol sa kasaysayan ng bayan, dadagdag pa to. Hindi na nga nila alam paano maglaro sa kalye, maglaro ng tumbang preso, luksong tinik at baka, at di nila kilala mga puno na laganap sa prubinsya. 

Tanunin mo magaaral ngayon, malamang di nila alam kung ano ang puno ng aratilis sa puno ng abokado o bayabas. Nung kabataan ko kahit sinong bata sa Manila alam yon. Ngayon/ Di nga nila alam kung ano ang sinigwelas. Pag inalok mo, weirdong-weirdo sila. Lalo na makopa at mabolo.

Nung napanood nga nila yung Heneral Luna, nagtaka sila ba't naka-upo lang si Mabini. Kaya di nakapag-tataka na balang araw, hidni na rin nla alam kung ano ang jeepney.

Jeepney has become a national symbol. Pag makulay, ma-sining at mahabang jeep alam na ng lahat jeepney yan. Ang mga turista excited sumakay dyan. E sa minibus? Ano excitement nila dun? Madami silang mas magagandang buses sa bansa nila. Pero wala silang jeepney. Asan ba yang secretary ng Tourism? Naiisip ba nila to?

Sa Inner Roads Daw

Pag nilagay mo sila sa inner roads, masasagasaan naman mga tricycles at pedicabs. Mawawalan sila ng pagkakakitaan. Madami nanaman ang magugutom. At masyado silang malaki at mahaba para sa inner roads. Andami pa namang makikipot na kalsada sa Manila. Naka daan ka na sa Tandang Sora? National Road yan pero ang kipot. Lalo na yung hindi national road. At doon sa maliliit na subdivision, parang pang-kariton lang mga kalye nila.

Ipaubaya na ang inner roads sa trikes at pedics. O sa Cadi-lakad. Sana hayaang pumasada mga magagandang jeepney sa major roads din. Gaya ng mga rutang papuntang MRT o LRT. 

Regulate Lang

I-regulate lang ang pasada nila. Huwag na yung mahahabang ruta, gaya ng Ocho hanggang Vito Cruz. Masyadong mahaba. OK na yung rutang Project 8-Munoz, halimbawa, o SM North to Munoz, or SM North to UP. Medyo malayo-layo yun pero at least generally less traffic ang ruta.

At dapat me limit ang units per prangkisa para limitado din ang bilang ng nasa lansangan. Tutal pwede namang co-pilot or barker ka muna pag di ka nakaka-drive. Or alternate schedules. MWF isang driver. TTHS yung isang driver naman. Sunday pala-bunutan. 

Pano Physical Distancing?

In jeepneys, I think as long as passengers wear masks and face shields, it's okay for them to sit side-by-sde. Or stay one seat apart. Lagyan lang ng X yung di pwedeng upuan. Basta bawal mag-usap. Bawal umubo o bomahing ng walang takip sa bibig--kahit na me mask at face shield ka pa. At ang bumahing at umubo obligadong mag spray ng alcohol sa paligid nya.

Mga suggestion lang naman yan. Kung mali e di sorry.

Ba't Ayaw Talaga Nila Mag Mask

Buti sila naka-mask. Mabuhay kayo!

They hate wearing masks talaga. Ang aga-aga makikita mo nasa labas ng walang mask--o kung meron man, nasa baba. And you know why they do that? Just to avoid being penalized. Sa QC kasi mga 6 months imprisonment at meron pang P50K na penalty. Tuloy pa ba ngayon yon? Yun kasi news nung April 2020. Di ko alam kung binago na. [Picture above from this page].

Ang mask kasi sinusuot hindi lang para wag ka makulong o magbayad ng penalty. Sinusuot yan sa dalawang dahilan pa:

1. Wag ka makahawa.
2. Wag ka mahawa.

Ayaw Mag-Multo

You never know if you have the virus or not. You may be asymptomatic and passing the virus to others unawares--although there's no proof yet that this is possible--that being asymptomatic can be a way of infecting others. But to be doubly sure, we assume that it can--na pwede kang maka-hawa. This is why we wear masks. Kaya wag matigas ulo.

Pero ayun si Thanos (bansag ko sa ka-barangay kong sa baba sinusuot ang mask nya), lakad ng lakad sa kalye minsan walang mask, minsan naman me mask nga pero nasa baba naman nya. Di nya suot yon dahil nag-iingat sya sa health nya at ng ibag tao. Suot nya yon kasi ayaw nyang mag-multo, este mag-multa pala. Mali yung sub-title ko sa itaas. Dapat, "Ayaw Mag-Multa." Sorry, tao lang po. Kayong mga ka-ocho, wag kayong Thanos ha!

Di Macho

Isa pa, di daw macho tignan pag naka-mask. Can you believe these people? Feeling nila di ka tunay na lalaki pag naka mask ka. O mahinag nilalang ka. Or worse, ma-drama ka daw masyado. Para virus lang e, pa-mask-mask ka pa at naka face shield pa. Arte mo. Tipong ganon. But the truth is, the virus is really deadly. Hindi biro-biro. Wag mo nang intaying tamaan ka at pahirapan ka--o patayin ka. Tapos mahawa pa pamilya mo.

Kalokohan Lang

Meron pang mga nagsasabi, fake news daw ang Covid 19. Wala daw virus talaga. So ano yung mga nasa news? Kahat-isip? Yung mga pinakita nilang pinahirapan talaga sila ng virus? Yung special news ni Howie Severino? Ano yun, mga kalokohan lang? I call these guys Smart Alecks. They laugh at those who take the virus seriously and claim that there is no virus--or if there is, it's not fatal. Mas deadly pa daw ang common flu na mas madaming namamatay. 

Ano to contest, padamihan ng namamatay?

Ke mas konti pa namamatay sa Covid kesa sa flu is not the issue. What is, is that Covid can kill and many in fact have died. Hindi ito kontes. Palibhasa mahilig ang iba sa beauty contest kaya lahat nalang sa kanila contest. Kaya rin pag na puna mo lang ng konti si President Duterte dilawan ka na daw agad. Ma-puri mo lang siya ng konti, DDS ka na daw agad. Lahat sa kanila contest. Yung kampihan mentality pinsan yan ng contest mentality.

And they both belong to the makipot family--makipot pagiisip.

Mahawa Ka na, Wag Lang Marumihan Mask Ko

Finally, there are folks who'd rather cough or sneeze at people than have their masks tainted with it. Naka-mask sila. Pero pag uubo or babahing, aalisin mask nila. Hehe. Gaya ni ate sa Western Union sa Walter Mart. Customer sya, naghihintay, medyo kasunod ko. Buti nalang naka physical distancing kami at naka mask at face shield ako. Nung bumahing siya, hinubad agad mask nya para di nya mabahingan. 

Actually, I see a lot of folks doing this--saving their masks by taking them off when they cough or sneeze. Why they do this--what's going on in their minds--I don't know. It's a big mystery. Probably a mystery for the Ocho Boys to solve.

Trike, Hike or Bike?

Tricycle o lakad? Yan ang pamimilian mo ngayon pag me pupuntahan ka. Except if you have your own car, motorcycle or bicycle. Or you hire a car to take you somewhere and take you back home later. From what I heard, it costs P500 to hire a private car to take you somewhere in the city. Kaya kung malapit lang pupuntahan mo na medyo malayo pag lalakarin mo, tricycle ka na. [Picture above by Dmitry Abramov from Pixabay].

Going to Munoz, for instance, you take a tricycle to Road 20 and then a tricycle to SNR. Then you walk from there going to EDSA or to the LRT station. Some walk from there to the MRT station at Trinoma. I heard a guy who walks from the MRT station there to Project 8 everyday. 

I can't imagine having to go to work from here to Manila or Makati. Yes, you can take LRT or MRT respectively, but what I can't imagine is the time you consume waiting in line to ride a train. Kasi konti lang ang pinapapasok at a time. Biro mo yung ganon, tapos aaw-araw yon. Ang hirap. Buti nalang I work from home. Kaya work from home na dapat. Lahat ng office work gawing work from home na para malaki mabawas sa mga commuters.

At yung bike lane. Daming pictures showing na ginagamit na parking ng kotse o delivery pick-up ang bike lane, although bawal na dapat. Ang dapat lakihan ang multa. But here's the pitfall--I see some traffic people given the authority to apprehend traffic violators abusing their power. They stand there on the highway, not to help ease traffic, but to catch erring drivers even if they do very minimal violations. 

Na pa-kabig lang ng konti (konting-konti lang) yung driver ko minsan hinuli na. Walang patawad. Di naman nag-i-issue ng ticket. Satsat lang ng satsat na P2,000 daw babayaran ng driver ko sa opisina nila. Syempre, alam mo na ibig sabihin non. So I tend to doubt strict implementation of traffic penalties. Kasi na kokorap lang. 

Buti nalang wala pang penalty sa maling paglalakad, except of course, jay walking. What I mean is, if you just lean a bit to your right while walking, a traffic officer would approach you to issue a ticket for "swerving." Baka mamya magkaron ng ganyang batas. It's possible. Just look at how some law maker thought of taxing online sellers who are just trying to make ends meet. Good that the Palace overruled this by saying that incomes lower than P250K a year are exempt. 

But wait. That means if you make P20,000 a month you'd be taxable na. Pero what's P20K a month? Kaliit na mababawasan pa. Don't think P20k is big these days. Barya nalang yan. At first glance it looks good--below P250K a year is tax exempt. But on closer look, you're not given leeway to really build a good business. Sana man lang nilakihan ang margin---like P500K a year and up is taxable. Diba? That means dapat P40K income mo a month bago ka ma-tax. Sounds fair enough.

Kahit saan ka bumaling pinahihirapan buhay mo. Hirap ka mag commute pag employment ka. Pag nag business ka online tataxan ka naman. Is government helping us or punishing us?

Now, going back to trike, hike or bike, lahat pahirap. Sana man lang me konting ginhawa. Like, putting up walking sheds along highways and main roads for walkers (hindi yung zombie na walker ha), safe bike lanes, and more tricycle units. I don't know if they'd resurrect jeepneys. This might be the death sentence for them. And then what they call modern "jeepneys" today don't look one bit like jeepneys. It's a gross misnomer. They look like mini-buses. 

And sana mura na lang ang rubber shoes and hiking so hoes to help Juan walk to and from work. And also make good bikes cheap enough for ordinary folks to buy. Di ba mga ka-ocho?

Three Things to be Safe From Covid: Tatlo Lang

Just a reminder, we're under GCQ but but the word "Quarantine" is still there. The virus is still around. And the number of cases are climbing up daily. Hindi sya nababawasan. Thank God madami  din gumagaling pero meron pa ring mga namamatay. This should keep us on our guard and double up our precautions. [Image above by Kokoshungsan.net from Pixabay].

When you go out, the crowd of people and traffic is back to normal. Physical distancing is observed in malls, banks and other establishments, but outside it's near chaos. Madalas kumpulan ang mga tao. I heard that distancing inside MRT trains are good. Pero syempre, dahil mahirap control talaga ang mga tao, we often see them clumped together in crowds and defying distancing.

Kaya ang nakita ko, ito. You can be safe outdoors if you just have these three:

1. Face mask

2. Face shield

3. Small spray bottle of alcohol.

Then you combine that with social distancing and less talking with people. As much as possible, iwasan makipag-usap, lalo na ng malapitan. And minimize your travel and the length of time you stay outdoors. Kung ano lang ang pakay mo sa labas, yun lang. Stay ka lang doon. Wag na mamasyal o magliwaliw. 

And as soon as you reach home, wash hands, soak your used clothes immediately in water and laundry soap, tapos maligo agad. And don't forget to disinfect your slippers or shoes na ginamit mo, lalo na yung swelas. Sprayan mo ng tubig na me cholorox. 

And take Vitamin C daily. Eat healthy food. Live a healthy lifestyle. Wala munang yosi 😊. Peace sa mga nagyoyosi, hehe. Para din sa inyo to. We don't want you to get sick. It's common knowledge how smoking can weaken our immune system and make us susceptible to illness--e lalo na Covid 19. Mabagsik. Kaya ingat muna.

And I highly recommend walking. Yung bayaw ko nilalakad nya everyday from SNR to Road 20. Everyday yan. Tapos minsan he walks from our place to Road 20 early in the morning to go to work. Mas safe kasi from Covid. You're just by yourself. Just don't go walking along dark or remote roads. Dun ka din sa ma-tao but keep a safe distance from them always.

And it's more fun to walk. You get the exercise and enjoy the sights. Just bring extra clothes gaya ni bayaw. He has several sets of clothes in his bag because he is sure to sweat it out when walking long distances like that. Para iwas pulmunya din. As soon as you reach your destination, change clothes and wipe off your sweat lalo na sa iyong likod.

Tapos polbo-polbo din mga ka-ocho para di tayo mangamoy. Or use body spray. Kakahiya kasi ke boss.

Lastly, observe these rules in the streets, more so in crowded places:

1. Don't spit anywhere. Lulukin mo muna, bro.
2. Don't take your favorite drink (like milk tea) in public, tapos naka expose pa yung straw. Bad for the health.
3. Don't put your mask on your chin. Andami kong nakikita, yung baba nila mina-mask. Hindi po nakakapasok ang Covid sa baba. Sa ilong pwede pa.
4. Don't touch your face, no matter what. Magka-matayan na, basta wag nyo hahawakan (o papahawak) mukha nyo.
5. PRAY. Always ask God for protection. Last but not least yan.

OK mga ka-ocho?