"Son of a bitch, suffer hardship and hunger.
#PARALLELS TRANSPORTER DRIVERS#
"You're poor?" Duterte snapped in a speech, addressing drivers during the October protests. The government has filed a case against San Mateo in connection with the October strike. Last year, San Mateo helped organize two strikes: a jeepney drivers' strike in February, which San Mateo was arrested for leading, and a two-day, nationwide transport strike in October. the framework should be socially just, democratic, public service-oriented and its long-term perspective should be nationalization of public transport," San Mateo says. "What we want in a modernization program. He wants President Duterte to scrap the current plan and work toward nationalizing the public transport system so drivers might get government help to buy or operate their jeepneys. He earns about $10 a day and is one of thousands of drivers who say they can't afford the new jeepney model the government wants them to buy. Raffy Solongon (in rear-view mirror), 47, drives his jeepney through Makati City in Manila. "So we have no choice but to fight back and launch transport strikes and transport protests." "That's why there's a deadlock on this," says San Mateo. San Mateo warns that the costs to run and maintain these newer models will be passed on to commuters in the form of increased fares. The new model the government wants them to purchase costs 1.6 million to 1.8 million pisos, or between $30,000 and $35,000. Earnings depend on factors such as profitability of the route, passenger volume and seating capacity.
#PARALLELS TRANSPORTER DRIVER#
San Mateo says a driver makes about 500 to 600 pisos, or about $11, for two days of work. Jeepney drivers and operators don't earn a lot, either. "Our vast passengers are not Uber-riding passengers, these are minimum-wage earners and their sons and daughters." "Let us remember that jeepney commuters are some of the poorest of the poor in the Philippines," says Mateo. Despite a fast-growing economy, millions of Filipinos remain below the poverty line. Jeepneys are a popular option over the city's light rail system, taxis, commuter buses and even trikes - motorcycles with sidecars - across income levels, but especially for the poor.
They're the cheapest option by far, with rides costing an average of 8 Filipino pisos, about 16 cents. In Metro Manila, a city of 12 million-plus and one of the most densely populated urban areas in the world, jeepneys are second only to walking when it comes to getting around. Many jeepneys reach areas of the city where other public transit does not go. San Mateo, 51, has been a driver for almost three decades and now heads the transport rights group Piston, short for Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide, or "unified nationwide organization of drivers and operators." It's in this role that he's leading the resistance to a government plan to "modernize" old jeepneys and replace them with newer, more eco-friendly models.Ī jeepney crowned with the name "Morning Glory" navigates a Manila street during rush hour. He's a warm, welcoming man sporting a salt-and-pepper goatee, glasses and a newsboy cap. Inside, George San Mateo sits eating his dinner. Outside the office's metal gate is a beat-up jeepney with a sign reading: "Ibasura ang Jeepney Phaseout!" or "No To Jeepney Phaseout!" The lane is so narrow that even the slightest wrong move could result in scratches or a dislodged side-view mirror from hitting a wall. The movement is focused on protecting a beloved Philippine form of public transport, the passenger truck known as the jeepney - but to reach its headquarters in a nearly hidden lane, it's a good idea to ditch your own vehicle. Authorities are moving to phase them out, citing pollution and safety concerns.ĭown a dark, cramped alleyway in the heart of densely packed Manila, a resistance movement is holding strong. Jeepneys, often known in the Philippines as "King of the Road," join traffic on a busy street in Manila last May.