Online Filipinos encouraged the public to support displaced jeepney drivers who are now creating tables and cabinets as source of livelihood after setting aside their original jobs due to the pandemic.
Former PTV employee Jules Guiang reshared some pictures of some customized tables they have crafted so far. It was originally uploaded on the Facebook group “Maginhawa Business Community.”
“Head on to Maginhawa Business Community to order! Tulungan natin sila!” he tweeted on Sunday.
Guiang’s post has so far earned more than 25,000 likes and 13,000 retweets or reshares as of this writing on the microblogging platform.
Look! Some jeepney drivers who lost their jobs this pandemic are now creating these wonderful tables and cabinets. Head on to Maginhawa Business Community to order! Tulungan natin sila! 🙂 pic.twitter.com/htdv4jzhof
— Jules Guiang (@julesguiang) May 22, 2021
Based on the original Facebook post, the displaced drivers can accommodate any kind of table, be it for computers, work or for home purposes.
“Duco finish po, solid wood po gamit namin. Makapal na bakal din po gamit namin. 100 percent po gawang local,” the uploader, Rico Unop, wrote in the caption.
He added that they are located in Sampaloc, Manila.
“Maraming salamat po sa mga nagpagawa na sa amin, laking tulong po sa amin ang inyong suporta,” Unop continued.
When community quarantines were implemented in the Philippines to restrict movement amid the threat of COVID-19, lots of Filipinos lost their jobs as a result.
This came as only limited industries and sectors were allowed to operate, especially during the first months of the pandemic when mass public transportation was suspended.
Some of those most affected by the lockdown are daily wage earners such as jeepney drivers.
Transport group PISTON (Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide) estimated that around 200,000 traditional jeepney units and 150,000 drivers in the National Capital Region have yet to be given authority to ply their routes, according to Philstar.com.
