Beep Beep!........Peep Peep! Vroooom!

In the Philippines, the jeepney or dyip is one of the country's icons. According to some urban legends, the dyip originated after the second world war when the Americans left a considerable number of jeepneys in the country. They used to be the mode of transportation during the war against the Japanese. Filipinos then, decided to convert these dyip into a mass transport system. Thus came the Philippine Dyip (Jeepney).

When I was a kid, I admired the colorful dyips traveling along our streets in Pampanga. And the best feature is that, long before the MMDA, dyips in our neighborhood are already color-coded. Yellow dyips travels to our town either from San Fernando or the Pampang Wet Market, Green ones travel around our town passing through the main streets such as Miranda, MacArthur Highway and Sto.Entierro. Grey dyip on the other hand travels somewhere in Dau and together with its cousin the Dark Blue dyip travels farther away. The rare Royal Blue dyips end point is Pandan. Lastly, a multicolored dyip travels from our town to Dau towards Mabalacat. Up to this day, these color-codes are still followed and it has already been a part of our town's transportation system, a part of our local culture.


Yesterday, I was given a chance to ride a yellow dyip right at the first day of a press-released, nationwide fare increase from 7.50 pesos to 8.00 pesos for dyips. I sat on the front seat beside the mamang tsuper and immediately paid him the updated 8.00 peso fare for my short trip. After sometime, I was thinking how fast mamang tsuper to accept my 8.00 pesos knowing that it was just about 9 hours past from the start of the price increase. And I was so glad that I was able to read the news and avoided being scold by manong for not doing so. Then, just two blocks before my destination, with the tip of his fingers, manong touched by arm and handed me 0.50 centavos. "Hindi ba tumaas na ng sinkwenta ang pamasahe?" I said. "Binawi kaninang madaling araw." manong answered. I was not surprised about the roll back of the price increase since like an ordinary consumer, I got 0.50 cents more for my other expenses. What caught my attention was the honesty and sincerity of manong to give back my spare change. Staying in Manila,we had to make sure that we pay the exact amount or expect the jeepney driver to keep the change.....most of the time.

I can't generalize the idea that jeepney drivers in Pampanga have better moral foundation compared to Manila drivers. However, one thing's for sure.....manong is someone the Filipino people should be proud of. I hope we could be "proud of ourselves" as well. ;)

Pwede Both?

Nakakatawa at nakakatuwa ang ginawa ng National Press Club ukol sa "mural" na kanilang inpinagawa sa isang grupo ng mga artists. Sa bisperas ng kanilang paglalahad sa sinabing mural, ipinabago nila ang mga nakaguhit dito. Kung tama ang pagkakaalala ko sa balita, binago nila ang sandatang hawak ni Bonifacio, ang mukha ni Ginang Burgos ay binago at napag-isipan pang alisin ang mukha ni Ninoy Aquino sa nasabing mural.

Kawalan ng respeto sa mga artists ang ginawa ng NPC dahil iyon ang buhay ng mga artists, ang kanilang mga kuro-kuro at paraan ng pagpapahiwatig ng isang kamalayan sa mga tao. Kung susundin natin ang yapak ng NPC, dapat na rin nating suotan ng shorts ang Oblation icon sa UP Diliman. Dapat na rin sigurong baguhin ang iba pang likha ng mga artists tulad ng Spolarium ni Luna. Maliban sa respeto sa mga artists, kahiya-hiya din ang ginawang pag-censor ng NPC sa sarili nilang mural na kung tutuusin ay ginawa upang maipahiwatig ang kahalagahan ng malayang pagpapahayag na kanilang ipinaglalaban.

Hindi kaya inabutan din ang mga namamahala ng NPC ng tig-500,000 pesos mula sa Malacanang? 'di kaya'y sadyang kawalang-muwang lamang? o baka naman pwedeng both?

PriceLess!

My brother just received a cake from his patient today. He is a medical doctor in the most jam-packed hospital in the Philippines-the Philippine General Hospital. I wonder what the flavor is? I have just eaten a slice and it looks, feels and tastes great! But what inspires me most is that even if my brother doesn't receive any fees from most of his patients, he still gives his best in doing his job. Lately, I just realized that a doctor doesn't just cure or maintain medications for their patients but they give these patients hope and encouragement. My brother values life, its in his genes and hopefully in the genes of every Filipino doctor. He strives to relieve his patients from their illnesses effectively, and most importantly, in the most cost-efficient way. Patients in the public hospital doesn't pay fees but they must still pay for their medications and admittance fees. My brother sees to it that he does his best and maintains the least cost for his patients. I'm a big fan of his, but I fail to mimic his nobleness. Business is business, I guess. It's not the first time that my brother brought home a cake. Sometimes, his patients that came from the provinces would give him organic fruits-from bananas to pomelos to lanzones. It seems that I get all my vitamins from them. :D What matters most I think is the emotional connections of my brother and his patients. When we met his patients, their smiles seem to show that it's not the cure, but the concern and the help that my brother gives them that they value most.

Paracetamol-3 pesos

Cough Syrup-75 pesos,

Cake Slice that I just ate - PRICELESS. :D