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| Dennis Buckly and traffic in Manila, photo compiled from Facebook and Carmudi Philippines |
An Open Letter
The open letter is addressed to all Caviteños. Dennis started his story with his daily routine where he needs to report to work by 7 am. He wakes up early and gets ready to hit the streets before 5 am. The very reason for him being an early bird is the Cavite transportation problem. The vans, jeepneys, and buses are few and most of the time non-existent. This caused him to walk long miles in order to catch a possible ride. As Dennis says,
“Pero hindi pa din yun guarantee na may masasakyan ako, kasi nga ayaw bumyahe ng mga drivers dahil huhulihin sila.”
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| Dennis Buckly, photo from Facebook |
The situation greatly affects Dennis’ work ethics. However, the post isn’t intended to rant about the transportation problem. The heart of it goes for aged people who stand in long lines for long hours in order to get a ride home. Dennis said that he was doing the message while waiting in line. He noticed that his co-passengers are older people who suffer the most in this dilemma. He noticed a working mom who's been standing on the line for 3 hours, an old woman in her late 60s whom he overheard experiencing dizziness already. So much dreading, indeed.
Heart-breaking Scenario
Dennis wonders about his kapwa-Caviteños take on the situation. And it really is bothersome for the young man. It is now usual to see a crowd along Molino Boulevard taking their chances to get a ride. But what breaks his heart is the people twice his age who still endures the same fate. They don’t deserve to experience such struggle, as Dennis says.
The young man ended his letter with,
“Bukas, panibagong pakikipagsapalaran na naman.”
“Kaya pa ba, kapwa Caviteño?”
Read full post below:
An open letter to all Caviteños:
Hello. Ako si Dennis. 28 years old. Nakatira ako sa may Bahayang Pagasa, Molino, Bacoor, Cavite, at nagwwork sa may Two E-Com Center, Mall of Asia. 7AM ang pasok ko, pero gumigising ako ng quarter to 4, at umaalis ng quarter to 5. Quarter to 5, nagaabang na ako sa may tapat ng Shell Molino, sa labas mismo ng Barangay namin. Hindi naman siguro lingid sa kaalaman natin na problema transportation dito sa Cavite. In short, wala nang masakyan. Wala. Literal. These past couple of days, nilalakad ko na mula Pagasa hanggang Daanghari-Molino intersection para lang maka-para ng van na wala pang laman. Para sa mga hindi taga Cavite, siguro ang layo nun is mula Mall of Asia hanggang Solaire. Pero hindi parin yun guarantee na may masasakyan ako, kasi nga ayaw bumyahe ng mga drivers, dahil huhulihin sila. Mapa-jeep, mapa-van, wala. It doesn’t matter how early you wake up anymore. So everyday, literal na ang pagpasok ko sa opisina ay by chance lang. Kung may masakyan, edi masaya. Kung wala, edi memo.
Pero hindi talaga tungkol sakin ‘tong post na ‘to. To be honest, physically active naman ako, so sanay ako sa mga mahahabang lakaran. Kasalukuyan akong nakapila ngayon dito sa tapat ng terminal ng Mall of Asia pauwi ng Cavite. Andito ako kanina pang 7PM. 9:07PM na ngayon. 2 hours na akong naghihintay. Pero like I said, this post isn’t about me kasi sanay naman akong maghintay (no hugot here). Sinusulat ko ‘to dahil meron akong katapat na isang working mom, siguro nasa mid 50s na siya. Tinanong ko siya kanina, “pila po ba ‘to ng Pagasa?” sabi niya “oo, 6PM pa kami nakapila dito.” So that makes her standing in the line for 3 hours now. Kitang kita ko na gutom na siya, at pagod na pagod na siya. Marami siyang bitbit at mukhang mabigat bag niya. Maya maya, sa kabilang pila naman (pa-Imus), may ale na napaupo kasi nahihilo na daw siya. She’s probably in her late 60s. Hindi ako sure kung saan siya galing, pero marami siyang dalang papel sa loob ng plastic envelop na see-through. I overheard, inasikaso daw niya pension niya. Same, kanina pa daw siyang 6PM doon. 3 hours na siyang nakapila. Nagmasid masid pa ako, siguro nasa 50% (syempre hindi accurate ang computation na yan) din halos ng mga nakapila ay mga medyo may edad na. Kumikirot puso ko everytime nakikita ko yung mukha nilang pagod at ang katawan nilang pabagsak na, hindi dahil sa work, kung hindi dahil walang masakyan.
Usually pag nakakasakay ako ng van tuwing umaga eh bagsak agad ako. Tulog. Pero these past couple of weeks, nabbother talaga ako sa nangyayari. Imbis na matulog, tinatanaw ko ang mga tao sa labas, curious ako kung anong iniisip nila. Kung nagmumura na kaya sila sa isipan nila. Sa tuwing dumadaan ang van namin sa Molino Boulevard, marami akong nakikitang matatanda (early 50s din siguro) na nagaabang at nagbabakasakaling may van. Andami nila, at wala din silang masakyan. Sa sobrang dami nila, mukha silang sasali sa People’s Revolution. Gusto kong lumabas ng van at sabihing “nay, tay, uwi nalang kayo. 😞 i-explain niyo nalang sa boss niyo na walang masakyan.”
Ayokong mag-dunung dunungan by calling out government organizations and blame anyone for this kasi kahit ako, wala rin naman akong clear picture as to why Cavite’s transportation system suddenly has gone mad. Puro hearsay lang, pero wala namang official announcement kung bakit nagkakaganito. Ni hindi nga ‘to nababalita sa news (correct me if I’m wrong — baka di lang talaga ako nanunuod ng TV masyado). Pero one thing is for sure: hindi ito tama. Hindi luxury etong nawala. Basic need ito. Basic need ng mga nanay at tatay at ng mga bread winner na nagttrabaho. Osige, wag natin silang i-highlight, kasi baka isipin niyo ad misericordiam ‘tong post na ‘to. Basic need ito NG LAHAT. Something as simple as transportation is a need, and not a luxury. Siguro iba sa inyo iisipin na ang entitled ng post kong ‘to, na lahat naman ay nahihirapan bumyahe at nasstuck sa traffic. Well, being stuck in traffic is one thing, pero ang walang masakyan is another. And I don’t think anyone who doesn’t take the Cavite-to-Manila route everyday will ever understand this post.
Like I said, this post is beyond me. This isn’t about a healthy young man’s inconvenience. This is to all working parents enduring this everyday hassle who aren’t as energetic as me, and whose stamina isn’t as strong as people my age. Naaawa ako sa kanila 😞 I can’t even imagine how physically distressing it is for them to deal with this daily. Iniisip ko nga, buti hindi ‘to naabutan nung parents ko nung sila’y nagttrabaho pa sila. Buti nalang.
Kaya kapwa ko Caviteño, gusto ko lang sabihin sa’yo na may karamay ka sa sitwasyong ‘to. Sama sama tayong pumirma ng memo at NTE. 😬 At tuwing sa tingin natin eh hindi na natin kaya, isipin nalang natin ang mga matatanda. People who are twice our age. They don’t deserve this. But it doesn’t also mean that our sentiments should be dismissed. Kasi alam ko pakiramdam niyo, mga ka-edaran. 🙂
Update: It’s already 9:57PM at nakasakay na din ako ng van. 3 hours sa pila. Pero mas masaya ako dahil si nanay na nasa tapat ko ay makakauwi na, after 4 hours of waiting.
Bukas, panibagong pakikipagsapalaran na naman.
Kaya pa ba, kapwa Caviteño?
Sincerely Yours,
Dennis Buckly
Caviteño
Playbuck
UPDATE:
Hello guys!
Una sa lahat, I didn’t expect this post to blow out the way it did. Habang tinatype ko yan, never ever kong inisip na “ay magiging viral ‘to”, kaya hindi ko siguro inexplain ang pinaka logistics nung sitwasyon. Pero may mga ipapaliwanag akong ilang bagay because I feel like hindi naiintindihan ng iba ang pinaka point nung post ko:
- I have worked in Mall of Asia since 2014. 4 years now, going 5. That being said, na-master ko na lahat ng pasikot sikot ng Metro Manila kung paano umuwi ng Cavite bukod sa MoA. Nakabisado ko na lahat ng alternate routes. So to answer your question, mas pinipili kong sumakay at pumila sa MoA kasi kahit saan ako magpunta — Baclaran, Savers, Ayala, etc — pila parin, for indefinite hours. So kung aalis ako sa pinipilahan ko from MoA to go to other abovementioned routes, pipila parin ako, for hours. This post doesn’t only apply to MoA. This post literally is about the North-to-South transporation system.
- Bakit hindi ako pumunta nalang ng St. Dominic at mag abang doon ng jeep? UHM... Kasi wala pong masakyan papuntang St Dominic in the first place. And even if I’d be able to miraculously go to St. Dominic, wala parin pong guarantee na may masasakyan doon. Like I said, it’s a North-to-South thing.
- Bakit hindi ako magbus papasok imbis na maghintay ng van? Kasi wala pong buses na dumadaan sa Molino Road.
- Bakit MoA van ang hinihintay mo kung pwede namang mag jeep pa-Baclaran? Kahit po jeep, wala. Hinighlight ko lang yung van pa-MoA, pero literally, wala pong kahit anong sasakyan ang dumadaan, van man o jeep, going to Baclaran OR MoA.
- Hindi po ako nagrereklamo sa traffic 🙂 As I’ve said, 4 years akong nagwwork sa MoA. Hindi issue sakin ang traffic. Sa UST ako nag aral nung college — España, Manila. So you can just imagine the picture. I eat traffic everyday. So inuulit ko, hindi ako nagrereklamo dahil traffic.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY:
- This isn’t about my inconvenience. Kung babasahin niyong maigi ang sinabi ko sa post ko, I reiterated that THIS POST IS BEYOND ME. Meaning, this isn’t about me. This is about the elders who are physically distressed by this stituation, who face transportation mayhem daily, and they’re the very reason why I posted this in the first place. Hindi ako sure kung maiintindihan niyo yung pakiramdam na nakakakita ng mga matatanda who restlessly wait in line for hours, for little to nothing. Now, kung sasabihin niyo, “Pinoy ka, dapat madiskarte ka”, where’s your compassion in telling that to other people who are twice your age and who are physically unable to make that so-called “diskarte”? Isipin niyo nanay niyo, or tatay niyo, or even lolo’t lola niyo — can you really imagine yourself saying “ay ma, Pinoy ka, so dapat dumiskarte ka.” Siguro hintayin nalang natin na umabot tayo sa ganong edad, at kung same situation parin ang hinaharap natin sa transportation system natin, then baka mas maintindihan natin yung pinagdadaanan nila, at kung gugustuhin ba natin na may magsabi satin ng “Pinoy ka, why wait in line when you can find alternate routes?”
Again, inuulit ko, hindi ito personal rant. This is an observation that I am expressing as to how older people are affected by this operation that was conducted with very poor feasibility. That’s all 🙂
Source: Dennis Buckly
