The former icon of Philippine culture is not something to be proud of anymore. It has lost its luster. It has turned into a symbol of decay and neglect. As far back as I can remember, the Philippine jeepneys made by pioneering jeep builders such as Sarao, Francisco Motors, and later, Malagueña and David Motors, have always been a cultural icon for us, Filipinos. The jeepney is to Pinoy transport as adobo is to Pinoy food. If you are a foreign tourist, you could not say you have truly been to Manila if you have not ridden a jeepney – or taken a selfie with it. Even our family, who was into making "owner-type jeeps" under the brand name MD Jeepstar, came out with its own Jifney models, the huge 22-seater Laguna-type jeepneys. The jeepneys were famous for their colorful body designs, plenty of horses and mirrors and a loud, blaring stereo dishing out hard rock music. They were the kings of the road. Yes, Pedro, we need to modernize the jeepney
Yes, just like anything here they allowed too many Jeepneys to ply the same route and now the Jeepney drivers are barely able to make a living. Used to be they drivers made a very good wage and took great pride in their individual jeepneys and had competitions as to who had the fanciest etc... No longer. Now they are reduced to trying to survive and put rice and dried fish on the table for dinner. Sad! They used to be something special.
Last time I drove to Siaton, I saw two broke down jeepneys. I would usually see 3 or 4 broke down before I reached Bayawan city. The nich that jeepneys operate is probably becoming slimmer all the time, with ezride for shorter trips, Ceres bus for longer and it doesn't help that the number of personal vehicles rises year on year. It looks like those stainless steel bodies have outlasted the market for which they were produced.
