NINE months after restricting them from rolling the roads, drivers, conductors, inspectors, mechanics and other employees of transport companies operating provincial buses have remained jobless because the government has yet to give them clearance to ply back to their routes.
Interestingly, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases [IATF-MEID] has allowed other public transport systems to re-operate – citing the need to jumpstart the business activities to ensure that our economy remains afloat.
Anyare? Point-to-Point buses were allowed to operate, UV Expresses, Grab cars, passenger jeeps, motorcycle taxis… why not the provincial buses?
In a social media post written in Tagalog, the provincial bus companies and people heavily dependent on its operation are pleading for compassion nine months after they were told to keep off the roads.
During this period, they have had any decent revenue and are largely dependent on help coming from people from all walks of life.
While these people are thankful to have survived after nine months of economic slump, they are not the type of Filipinos who are accustomed to indolence. They’d rather work hard than receive alms.
A check on previous news articles showed provincial bus companies expressing willingness to comply with the guidelines set by the government for public transportation.
All that these people wanted is to be given the green light to work. Again, work — not alms.
This is part of their open letter to President Rodrigo Duterte that was uploaded in the social media:
Kami po ay patuloy na nananawagan sa mga LGU ng ibat ibang probinsya. Halos 9 BUWAN na po kaming walang hanapbuha., hindi lamang po kaming mga driver at kunduktor, pati na rin po ang mga empleyado na aming mananakay na nagtatrabaho sa ka-Maynilaan.
Madaling sabihin na maghanap muna ng ibang pagkakakitaan, ngunit sobrang hirap po lalo kung hindi angkop sa iyong kakayahan.
Kami po ay NAGTATAKA. Bakit po ang mga P2P BUS at mga colorum na VAN ay pinapayagan maglabas pasok sa probinsya at Maynila samantalang kami ay pinagbabawalan? Ano po ba ang pinagkaiba namin sa kanila?
Nakahanda din naman po kaming sumunod sa inyong mga patakaran.
Libong pamilya po ang nagtitiis ng gutom at alam naman po natin na hindi nyo kayang sustentuhan,
Kami naman po ay hindi sanay na umaasa sa inyong mga ayuda.
Sanay po kami na sa araw araw ay naghahanapbuhay.
ISAMA NIYO NAMAN PO KAMI SA INYONG PAGBANGON.
AT WAG SAMANTALAHIN ANG PANDEMYA UPANG KAMI AY TULUYAN KALIMUTAN AT ALISIN SA LINYA.
Sa akin pong mga kasamang DRIVER at KUNDUKTOR ng ibat ibang kumpanya ng PROVINCIAL BUS hindi po masamang umiyak sa gobyerno lalo kung pamilya mo na ang apektado.
At sa mga COMMUTER po TULUNGAN NIYO PO KAMI na ipaabot sa lahat ng LGU ang ating kahilingan
Hindi po namin makakayanan ng kami lang, sa bandang huli tayo naman pong lahat ang makikinabang.
HUWAG SANANG KALIMUTAN KAMING MGA NAGSAKRIPISYO NOONG KAMI AY INYONG KAILANGAN
Their open letter seemed sensible enough to merit government attention. Why not consider their plea? To my surmise, some crooked national government officials seemed on a wait-and-see mode – waiting to be bribed.