Metamorphosis
sgadia@theguidon.com
For weeks, students like myself struggled with the on-again-off-again tricycle ban along Katipunan Avenue, especially when our destinations were nowhere near the overpasses provided. On some days, we were lucky as a few trike drivers went against the odds, and took students to Katipunan establishments despite the now-on trike ban.
On one particular day, a trike driver agreed to take me to Katipunan after having been told by another driver that some of their co-workers made it out of the campus and were spared by a violation. A few minutes into the ride, the tricycle I was in came to a halt upon reaching gate 3.5’s exit point. “Ma’am, nandyan po MMDA eh,” the driver said. “Dito na lang po kayo.”
As I got out of the tricycle I was in, I saw about five other tricycles clog up gate 3.5, each carrying students with exasperated faces, as they obviously did not make it to their destinations. I, too, was a bit let down. What bothered me more, however, was the fact that not only do these trike drivers exhibit the lack of discipline and self-control (if that means adding an extra hundred pesos to their daily profit) seen in most Filipinos, but the ban has again dented their respective livelihoods.
The ban that was first imposed in 2008 has met public dissent as it again took effect in February, much to the dismay of drivers who now earn P200-P250 pesos a day. Prior to the ban, the drivers earned an average of P300, which still does not meet the P382 minimum wage.
Most of the drivers work for their respective families’ benefit, and the P200-P250 salary they bring home daily simply does not suffice for household needs—rent, water, electricity, and their kids’ tuition fees.
In an interview with trike drivers Jun Borja, Emil Bactasa, and Marcelino Gonzales, they said this ban has tampered with their daily expenses. They still have not received any form of compensation or assistance from the government or from the Loyola Schools. Their complaints against the government, most especially, have met slow to almost no reform. This especially works against their benefit, they say, as their chosen livelihood answers to their monetary needs in an honorable way.
Monetary problems are not only for the trike drivers’ to bear. Graduating students like myself are also in danger of getting jobs that do not pay well, or worse, being unemployed. An Ateneo diploma does not really assure one of a high-paying job.
Perhaps to answer the problem of unemployment and low pay, the government should be aware of the situations workers concerned face on a daily basis.
In the trike drivers’ case, though imposing a set of rules can make for a more disciplined and efficient citizenry, the downsides have to be considered as well. Will compensations be made available when jobs are taken away? Will other opportunities be presented when the employees are not able to make ends meet?
On the part of the worker, a pro-active stance should be taken—address the proper authorities when problems of unemployment surface and when all else fails, to find other alternatives to make a living is one’s best bet at a better lifestyle.
May 2010 is then foreseen as the first step for one to affect change in the systems that go against his lifestyle. The implementation of this change, however, relies heavily on the individual, and we know this all too well.
