I was on my usual thirty-minute walk the other day when a jeepney roared by again. In eastern Metro Manila, jeepneys are former Fuso or Canter 14 foot light trucks. This makes for an awkward turning radius because of the length but so what? There are no regulations about how jeepneys should be built to intergrate safety features. Basically, anything goes.
They're noisy because drivers and operators don't put in a muffler. The jeepneys are styled with lowered front ends and high rear ends. The drivers like to think of it as extended cars. They also come with all the accoutrements of typical jeepneys; the glaring and garish lighting and the extremely loud sound systems blaring out the latest in hiphop music.
Power steering has made it possible to put in "sport" steering wheels with a narrow diameter. Surplus dashboards are also put in. It's basically a jeepney/car hybrid but it isn't safe for passengers as a mode of transport and made worse by drivers who are inclined to break traffic rules rather than abide by them.
The jeepney became the primary mode of transport after World War II because the Americans left so many of them behind after liberating us from the Japanese.
What mass transport system we had in place was destroyed during the war. We had the tranvia system in Manila and the railroad from Tutuban, going to points north, south and east. None of these were rebuilt after the war because the Americans unceremoniously dumped its colony in favor of Japan and the oligarchs were more concerned with recovering the wealth they lost during the war. It didn't help that the operative principle was a Philippines run like hell by Filipinos instead of a Philippines run like heaven by the Americans.
We were the first country in the region to build a light rail line which was completed in 1983 but not much happened after that. The focus should've been on mass transport but the oligarchs wouldn't have that. They're all for rent-seeking businesses. No long-term development vision at all.
With the politicians and the oligarchs in cahoots with the Americans, we never achieved real independence until 2016. Only an outlier like Duterte had the gumption to break from what has been the norm since 1946. It was Duterte who said to hell with the jeepney operators and drivers as he ordered the implementation of the transport modernization program. Unfortunately, six years is too short for a good President and he wasn't successful in getting his daughter to succeed him or even at least, his factotum who could've been his proxy.
The jeepney is the symbol of all that is wrong with our country because of the entitled rich and the enfifled poor, who, together with the politicians are all about money, power and the welfare state. Ayuda nation is what the poor, the politicians and the leftist-liberals are after even if it doesn't produce results as proven by the state of our educational system and poverty levels which haven't been reduced to a more sustainable number.
Migrant Filipinos have the discipline to follow rules and regulations in their adoptive countries but never at home. This is why we have never been as progressive as our regional neighbors. We don't identify as Asian and with religion as the basis for our mindset there is no such thing as a philosophical work ethic.
Each administration brings with it a new version of how we can be better but none of the basic issues are addressed. The DOTr under Tugade instituted the motor vehicle inspection system in an effort to get rid of dilapidated vehicles on the road.
This was for implementation in 2023. Data capture began this year. I thought that with the MVIS, jeepneys would finally be run off the roads since none of them can pass the emission test. Imagine how we have a clean air act but don't implement the law equally. The jeepney gets a pass because their drivers and operators are poor supposedly.
During the first Marcos administration, there was an emphasis on discipline after the declaration of martial law. Sa ikauunlad ng bayan, disiplina ang kailangan became a buzz phrase. The establishment of the Metro Manila Transit Corporation gave the public the opportunity to experience riding in modern buses with uniformed drivers and conductors who followed the rules and regulations. But after Marcos was ousted, the transport sector became a free-for-all. This is why we have anarchy and chaos on the roads today.
If we fail at the basics, how can we do better with the more complicated such as a sovereign wealth fund? Who foreign investor will come in where the playing field is unlevel and red tape and corruption are the norm in the bureaucracy?
The bill establishing the sovereign wealth fund took Congress all of 17 days to pass. The national land use bill has been pending in the legislature for years but hasn't been passed because politicians and big business with vested interests continue to be opposed to it.
I have given up hope that I would be still alive to see the day the Philippines becomes as progressive as its regional neighbors. It will not happen within my lifetime and from the looks of it, never will even for the future generations at the rate we're going.
We need to have a visionary leader who isn't afraid of disrupting the status quo. At this point, there is no one on the horizon who meets that particular criteria and there's no one who shows potential because the younger generations have been corrupted by the system.
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