Note: Originally published on WhenInManila
Date of publication: July 31, 2017
Publisher: Angeline Rodriguez
Francisco Alfonso, also known by his alias Tatang Kitong, rises at 3 in the morning to prepare for another day of battle. Today, he is on a mission. He’ll retrieve a set of keys from his drawer and use one to turn on an engine that’s getting ready to roar. The operation of a WWII Jeepney that have been repurposed to pick up early-rising consumers so that they can dodge the morning throng.
As Tatang Kitong navigates the small section of San Agustin leading to palengki, he boasts, “They are having the ride of their lives” (Guagua Public Market). His jeepney is packed with women of various ages, all of them holding empty bayongs and plastic bags and muttering about the latest local gossip.
Over the course of its 62 years on the streets of Betis, this GI Jeepney has seen many changes. Parents of Tatang Kitong paid P1,800 for it in 1945; it had belonged to a man named Waning, who lived in San Miguel Betis, and had been the raffle prize winner. In the years following World War II, Tatang Kitong’s parents relocated the family heirloom from its original location to Boling, a prominent talyer located near the Royal Theater in Guagua. The GI Jeepneys that were transformed into pamasadas quickly rose to prominence in Betis. And the Betiseos have loved this Jeepney for more than three generations.
“It might not have the same speed as the newest car on the market. However, it will surely keep running forever.”
Tatang Kitong
A a commuter once explained his preference for the famed jeepney by saying, “Masanting yang sasaken. Maligwa yang sasapak uling pang-anaman yamu (It will not take you too long for it to be filled up because it’s so little).”
This Jeepney has outlived the previous 13 presidents of the Philippines. Due to the fact that it is still operational today, its impact on Betis has lasted for quite some time. When questioned if his jeepney is in good enough shape to last another generation, Tatang Kitong said, “My final task with the time I have left in my life will be to drive this Jeepney to pick up any Betiseno who wants to ride in it. It is a really old jeepney. as old as I can remember. It might not have the same speed as the newest car on the market. However, it will surely keep running forever.” (end)