Hard times: Jeepney drivers with placards that read ‘Mam/sir, we’re jeepney drivers, asking for your help’ begging along a road in Manila. — AFP
FORCED off the road by coronavirus lockdowns, Philippine jeepney driver Daniel Flores now plies the streets of Manila on foot, begging for money to feed his family.
The 23-year-old has not picked up a passenger since March, when public transport was halted and people ordered to stay home as President Rodrigo Duterte’s government tried to slow the spreading contagion.Jeepneys – first made from leftover US jeeps after World War II – are a national symbol in the Philippines and serve as the backbone of the country’s transport system, providing rides for millions of people across the country for as little as nine pesos (75 sen).
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