Manong Cesar: A Jeepney Driver in Baguio City

  

  

     The life of a jeepney driver is a colorful one. New faces come and go. Old faces that they’ll never get to know. A static route that’s a staple in their life so much so, like their lifestyle, that they have learned to accept it. It is not easy. Far from it. The people who should protect them makes it a lot harder. 

              Manong Cesar Lanuza is one of the many who adopted this lifestyle - a lifestyle he was forced to swallow because of the lack of opportunities and societal support. He was forced to fend for his loved ones, ultimately crushing any other path he could have taken. A path that could have had a higher salary, generous benefits or one that he genuinely enjoyed doing. For most of his life, he has been seated in the driver’s seat of a vehicle he did not own but cared for like it was. It is the greatest peek we get at his life—doing a plethora of work inadequate to what he gets in return, all in the place of someone who controls him. It is  great tragedy that his creative constraints are pegged on circumstances out of his control.

He and his family live off of a bare minimum. Factoring in the construction of their unfinished home, the school fees of his children, and food on their plate, they can only handle so much. A PHP200 chicken on a birthday is all the money they can squander, as manong Cesar puts it,  “once in a blue moon”. The rest, however, are hard pickings, sometimes resulting in them having to resort to eating alamang to put taste in a bland plate of rice.

There are no written contracts between Manong Cesar and the owner of the jeep. There is only a verbal agreement that Manong Cesar would drive, maintain, and repair the jeep; and that he would get 30% of the money earned from it. Manong Cesar says that even during rest days, he has to work to repair or maintain the jeep; all without labor pay. He says that the only bonus that jeepney drivers get is that during holidays, 100% of the money from the jeep goes to them, and even then they have to work the whole day. Instead of attending family gatherings and other significant events, Manong Cesar chooses to spend those days on the roads of Baguio City just so he could provide something for his family. Francisca, his wife, when asked about her feelings on these absences, said that she understands why Manong Cesar can’t be present at these milestone events as she deems it necessary for them to get by.

According to Manong Cesar, jeepney drivers have to wait for weeks or months for the decisions of LTFRB to be implemented in Baguio. For him, government officials do not pay attention to them. They do not have privileges provided by the government, only by the jeepney association he is a part of. Everyday, a part of the whole earnings for the day will be given to the association as an insurance when a member dies and for the overall expenses of the association. The total or what is left of the given contribution will be returned to the members of the association.

Manong Cesar deemed his job difficult. He seemed resigned to the fact that the demerits of his job are perpetual, undeniable, and unfortunately commonplace. 17 years of driving had him accept situations wherein he is placed in the inferior. Accidents, encounters with authorities, and traffic incidents are red lights indicating that, despite evidences otherwise, he is at fault. "Wala tayong magagawa," he says.
   

Such submission proves how problematic the state of due process is. When you are classified as this kind of person or with this kind of job, it is already inevitable that you can do nothing about it. Even with an association with members that ideally empower each other, when you are the minority voice, it remains a feat to be heard.

Manong Cesar believes he speaks for other jeepney drivers about how authorities turn a deaf ear to them. When conflict arises, it is automatically their fault. Adding to this, the penalties are theirs to shoulder. For an average of P200 a day, it leaves them with very little, maybe even none, to take home to their families.

As students, by simply paying the right fare, we help them live and create a future for their kids. But more than that as UP students it is our burden to take up their cause and speak for them.