MANILA, Philippines - Last week, the family car was monopolized by my wife. It seems that after double knee replacement surgery, her mobility has improved considerably. Faced with a doctor’s appointment at St. Luke’s Medical Center, I decided to take public transport. We live some 15 minutes away and it is just one ride by the old, reliable jeepney.

How things have changed. When I was a young boy I used to travel a lot by jeepney to and from school. They were standard-size army vehicles reconfigured from the old World War II jeeps that were used by US forces during the liberation phase of the war.

Today after major restructuring, some jeepneys can seat as many as 20 passengers in the back and beside the driver. Can you believe that for the last 50 years, many of our people still rely on this expanded dinosaur of the past for their movements? Yes, we do have a growing rail transit system but for most Filipinos, the jeepney is still the workhorse for land transport requirements here in Metro Manila and other urban areas of the country. As an old Air Force man, I was somehow reminded of the C-47 or “Gooney Bird,” a twin-engine propeller transport plane which for many years served as the workhorse of the Philippine Air Force. Unfortunately, we lost our most beloved President, Ramon Magsaysay, in the crash of his plane, a refurbished C-47 which slammed into the slopes of Mt. Manunggal in Cebu province in 1957.

But going back to the jeepney, there are certain things I would like to share with you particularly those who live in gated communities and commute in air-conditioned vehicles with or without a driver.

First, the jeepney driver is probably the most undisciplined driver in the country. He stops when and where he finds it convenient to stop regardless of traffic regulations or the requirements of courtesy and consideration for other road users. He is oblivious to “No Stopping” or “No Loading and Unloading” signs even with the presence of MMDA personnel or traffic enforcers. The fellow is exerting his best efforts to make a living and bad habits die hard. Also he is aware that his clients, the jeepney riders who have been spoiled all these years, know that he will stop for them anywhere.

Second, there are certain practices in riding a jeepney worth mentioning. Everyone pays the fare. You may be at the end of the jeepney, farthest from the driver, but you give your fare to your neighbor and he or she passes it on to the driver through other passengers. You get back any change due you via the same route. I mention this because the people near the back exit can easily just get off without paying and it would be difficult for the driver to run after them. Unlike the bus, the jeepney has no “conductor.”

The payment system involves simple honesty. By some standards, the amounts may be small but it says a lot about our people whose lives are deeply affected by every rise in the cost of fuel and food.

Third, I asked a fellow passenger if the driver honored the senior citizen discount which is called for in the law. To my great surprise, the answer was a very enthusiastic “yes.” The fare on my route was P7.50. With the 20-percent discount, I paid P6.00—no questions asked, no cards presented. If the humble jeepney driver is aware of the senior citizen privilege and casually honors it as though it were an old practice, why do some business establishments raking in millions act as though the senior citizen discount is an unwarranted intrusion on their money-making operations?

An example: A restaurant offers a promo price for a particular menu. This price is available for everyone. If you ask for a senior citizen discount, they will tell you they cannot offer two discounts for the same menu—the promo rate and the senior citizen discount. If the promo rate is available for everyone, where does the senior citizen benefit come in? You can get into an argument on this point but if you stand your ground and show that you mean business, they may grudgingly give in. If they don’t, raise your voice and threaten a complaint.

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The Good News: Last week, I wrote about senior citizen Jose Molano’s travails with the GSIS. He had been trying to correct his records for the purpose of getting his retirement pay. I suggested that since he was dealing with the GSIS, he should start a novena to St. Jude, patron of lost causes.

Lo and behold! A few days later, the GSIS called Molano informing him that he could pick up his retirement check. I told Joe Molano that apparently St. Jude reads the Inquirer and decided to intervene even before the start of his novena.

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A few columns back, I wrote about West Point father-and-son graduates. First was Gen. Vicente Lim, class of 1914, and his son Vicente Lim Jr., class of 1944. Second was Col. Teodorico Sanchez, class of 1953, and son Teodorico Sanchez Jr., class of 1980. Third was Col. Romeo Posadas, class of 1975, and son Lt. Mark Posadas, class of 2004.

I received a few letters on the subject which throw more light on this interesting situation.

But let me start by saying that as far as Philippine Military Academy alumni are concerned, we have quite a number of father-and-son graduates. If I might mention just a few, we have Fortunato Abat, Renato de Villa, Edgardo Alfabeto, Rodrigo Ordoyo, Protacio Laroya, and Antonio Trillanes, father of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

Former Public Works and Highways Secretary Gregorio R. Vigilar, one of the most respected Cabinet officials to occupy this sensitive post, wrote to say that Teodorico Sanchez graduated from West Point with the class of 1954. It was Vigilar who finished at the US military academy with the class of 1953.

Enrique P. Romualdez, editor of Malaya newspaper, wrote to say that Maximiano Janairo of Kawit, Cavite, graduated from West Point with the class of 1930. Two of his sons also finished at the USMA: Maximiano Jr. with the class of 1954 and Antonio with the class of 1964.

Jose Dado Jr., West Point class of 1955, adds that Pedro Flor Cruz graduated from the US military academy with the class of 1942 and his daughter Celia Flor Cruz finished at the same institution with the class of 1982—probably the only Fil-Am father-daughter team so far.

The difference between the Janairo and Flor Cruz families from those I mentioned is that the Janairo boys and the Flor Cruz girl were US citizens who joined the US armed services after graduation.

I greatly appreciate all your inputs on this subject.

More Inquirer columns

Previous columns:
More horror stories from senior citizens- 01/28/08
A heavy blow to Philippine tourism- 01/21/08
Six new battalions and an extension - 01/14/08
A senior citizen prays - 01/07/08