I first met these breed of men (and frequently, even women are now joining the charade) when I was in college. They just popped up literally. One afternoon, I was on my way home from another stressful day in school when suddenly I heard shouts, “Toril, SM, Matina!” I glanced at the conductor of the jeep but he was silent. Then I looked outside and saw a big man doing the shouting, while waving his arm at no one. When the jeep was full, the man went to the driver and got “rewarded” with coins.
Since then, dispatchers have become commonplace in Davao. In SM, you have dispatchers who meet you while you’re crossing the road, persuading you to ride this jeep because of a multitude of reasons which often turn out to be lies (e.g. “kesyo puno na, hapit na murayga, naa pay sulod, bakante pa etc.”). In NCCC Maa, you also have dispatchers who stick to the side of the jeep, like barnacles. There are also dispatchers who make it a habit of slapping the side of the jeep and ordering people to move and make way, as if he was herding some animals for slaughter.
When I transferred to Manila, it was the same thing, albeit more worse. At every stop of the jeep, there is a dispatcher. There are also dispatchers for taxis so when you ride a taxi, you have to prepare Php 5.00 for them too. In some parts of Manila, especially where I live, things are getting institutionalized. Now, they have “tickets”, which the driver pays for “services” to be rendered.
As for me, I am not amused. And looking at the faces of these men, there is only one thing I can say: pathetic. Clearly, this line of work does nothing to help the nation’s economy. Also, one has to wonder if everyone understands the absurdity of dispatching jeeps, which is that: you are barking on people to ride this jeep, people who otherwise know what jeep they should take or know how to read the travel signs in front and on the jeep’s side.
In short, dispatchers are superfluous, redundant, unnecessary. They are like glorified beggars, bleeding jeepney drivers and operators alike simply by appearing to be busy in road stops. For every peso a driver receives as revenue, certainly there is a portion of that which goes to the dispatchers (If there be another price hike in jeep fares, then we can blame the dispatchers, apart from the usual oil price hikes and uncontrolled inflation).
When I suggested to my father that dispatching be illegalized, he said that dispatching does help. For those who don’t have jobs, dispatching is a way to still put food on the table. Although I am one to argue relentlessly, I saw the point.
But I still don’t like them. I don’t like that they get to stand and bark at people all day. I don’t like that they make me appear like an idiot who doesn’t know what jeep I should take. I don’t like that money for them comes relatively easy and doesn’t demand the sort of emotional and physical stress real work requires. I don’t like that they get away with doing nothing.
I don’t like them. And neither should you.
Since then, dispatchers have become commonplace in Davao. In SM, you have dispatchers who meet you while you’re crossing the road, persuading you to ride this jeep because of a multitude of reasons which often turn out to be lies (e.g. “kesyo puno na, hapit na murayga, naa pay sulod, bakante pa etc.”). In NCCC Maa, you also have dispatchers who stick to the side of the jeep, like barnacles. There are also dispatchers who make it a habit of slapping the side of the jeep and ordering people to move and make way, as if he was herding some animals for slaughter.
When I transferred to Manila, it was the same thing, albeit more worse. At every stop of the jeep, there is a dispatcher. There are also dispatchers for taxis so when you ride a taxi, you have to prepare Php 5.00 for them too. In some parts of Manila, especially where I live, things are getting institutionalized. Now, they have “tickets”, which the driver pays for “services” to be rendered.
As for me, I am not amused. And looking at the faces of these men, there is only one thing I can say: pathetic. Clearly, this line of work does nothing to help the nation’s economy. Also, one has to wonder if everyone understands the absurdity of dispatching jeeps, which is that: you are barking on people to ride this jeep, people who otherwise know what jeep they should take or know how to read the travel signs in front and on the jeep’s side.
In short, dispatchers are superfluous, redundant, unnecessary. They are like glorified beggars, bleeding jeepney drivers and operators alike simply by appearing to be busy in road stops. For every peso a driver receives as revenue, certainly there is a portion of that which goes to the dispatchers (If there be another price hike in jeep fares, then we can blame the dispatchers, apart from the usual oil price hikes and uncontrolled inflation).
When I suggested to my father that dispatching be illegalized, he said that dispatching does help. For those who don’t have jobs, dispatching is a way to still put food on the table. Although I am one to argue relentlessly, I saw the point.
But I still don’t like them. I don’t like that they get to stand and bark at people all day. I don’t like that they make me appear like an idiot who doesn’t know what jeep I should take. I don’t like that money for them comes relatively easy and doesn’t demand the sort of emotional and physical stress real work requires. I don’t like that they get away with doing nothing.
I don’t like them. And neither should you.
2 comments:
I feel for you. I also hate them. In fact, I already shouted at one mongrel who grabbed me by the arm because he thought I was going to SM. Stupid jerk.
The presence of dispatchers is an insult to the Filipino common sense. Because when people want to board a jeep, they will ride one.
Pao... I've a similar entry about DISPATCHERS... You might want to read it...
http://myshell17.blogspot.com/2008/08/rant-2-faces-of-filipino-resilience.html
hehehe...
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