Professional Drivers in the Philippines: Most Abusive

 Part two of a series.

This article is written to increase awareness on the risks of hiring private or family drivers who are abusive of their profession, and who observe malpractices  against their employers or the very clients they serve.

Is your driver "bastos" or "super bossy"?

"Pare," one driver points a finger on the head of a woman and says with a wide grin, "bebot!".  

The driver who called the attention of another, both are driving instructors were ogling at the face of a student-driver currently enrolled in the driving school. All done in broad daylight and while teaching two women student drivers at that.

This blatant disrespect no matter how slight should not be encouraged.  

In another situation a driver quietly without the knowledge of the employer scours the neighborhood and befriends the subdivision homeowners  he brushes along with a fast chitchat, remembering their names casually. 

After which the professional driver who has been serving for a long time for a private employer is already getting the hand salute of the subdivision security, herein to subliminally suggest that the driver is the authority already, without the security personnel acknowledging the owner of the vehicle and the employer of the driver seated at the back.

In recent years a number of drivers who have been hired privately and given driver's license by Land Transportation Office have become out-in-the open in their abusive  ways taking advantage of their hold in their private employers who have no resort but to hire drivers for their daily activities.

But this pose a number of risks to women employers and clients for these matter as these professional drivers act shaded enough to disrespect the women and very client they serve.

Some drivers position themselves at a great deal point of familiarity that they have also become an open source of "tsimis" or rumors spread against their employers enough to debilitate their employers' reputation 

Some drivers take advantage by getting all the work benefits that are not usually given corporate or public utility drivers like access to lifestyle sites and wishful demands just so their employers would be further tied down financially to them.

The problem with these scenarios is that it appears that these professional drivers are no longer professionals in their dealings with their employers but are sidestepping to an alley of family or work takeover, that would give them access to the confidential trade/ work or familiary of business among the very circle of their employers. 

A dangerous route to take as most family or private drivers do not have the right training of character to handle the wheel that requires integrity and distance especially in terms of work-service-business route.

Most drivers who have served with longevity try to impose demands on their women employers like "not commuting", and always going out with a car even when they have to fetch their service vehicle from a site. 

Some drivers maneuver the employers with skillful adept in vehicle repair that they often pad the amount or expense of their employer when it comes to having their vehicles repaired.   

Also drivers use their referral influence to manipulate further their women employers, where and  how the vehicles will be repaired and how much giving him the extra commission from the vehicle repair, an opportune way of earning sometimes to a fault of maneuvering when employers are already paying more than their share of salaries.

Still on abusive drivers who know their indispensability for taking women to work, school or daily routine, some drivers are often given more respect and subservience by their employers (yes these happens), to a point that employers go as far as dispensing their own family member just so they can be driven around in cars and get that status nod among their circle.

Riding a car in the country is not only an often brag of status symbol.  

Most riders of privately-owned vehicles are spared of untoward bullying by members of the community or even strangers, who could identify them with poverty if they go around without a private vehicle service.  

This is a true bias against the commuter public.

LTO thus should make efforts to discipline professional drivers; identify them with their own employers; or label them as self-employed (for drivers to shoulder their own ITR tax filing etc) and require them to be given with a moral clearance or approval to drive professionally for their employers or clients.

These are to avoid those bad, "bastos" drivers who drive with stereotype attitudes and who meddle in the lives and private businesses of their employers.

NRP 2024