Jeepneys | Music | 00:00 |
| CAMPBELL: It's called the jeepney. And it's a cross between a bus and a US military jeep. | 00:16 |
Manila traffic | Paris might have the metro and London the underground, but in Manila these hybrid jeeps keep the city moving. | 00:23 |
| Sort of. | 00:33 |
Jeepneys | They're often dirty, scarcely roadworthy and have colour schemes as subtle as Imelda Marcos. | 00:39 |
| They pollute the air, clog the streets and fill the hearts of Filipinos with national pride. | 00:46 |
| Jump into the back of one and you'll find people who wouldn't travel any other way. | 00:55 |
Eric in jeepney. Woman vox pop | Woman: It's a quite convenient way, and you can ride it anywhere, you can find it anywhere and of course it's more cheap... cheaper than taxis, than a car. ] | 01:01 |
| CAMPBELL: And it stops everywhere? Woman: Yeah, it stops everywhere. CAMPBELL: Even if it's blocking all the traffic? Woman: Oh, yes. | 01:12 |
Jeepneys | Music | 01:17 |
Archival. Wartime | Music - Wartime style | 01:21 |
Jeep being unloaded from ship | CAMPBELL: Like much of the Philippines' post-war culture, it began with American cast-offs. | 01:28 |
Macarthur getting out of jeep | But when the US military pulled out, it left thousands of surplus jeeps behind. | 01:36 |
Jeepneys of the ‘50s | Enterprising Filipinos used them as public buses, lengthening the bodies to take more passengers. | 01:45 |
| By the 1950s, they'd become an art form. | 01:53 |
'50 images of Jeepneys | Music | 01:56 |
| CAMPBELL: Backyard builders started decorating jeepneys to attract more customers. | 02:05 |
Photo. Imelda Marcos looks at jeepney | Music | 02:09 |
| CAMPBELL: Soon, jeepneys had more decorations than vehicle. And the country's de facto national car was born. | 02:12 |
Ric polishes jeepney | Ric: This jeep is like already a symbol, Filipino symbol. | 02:23 |
| CAMPBELL: Ric David is the proud boss of a jeepney company dating back to 1945. | 02:27 |
Jeepney factory | Everything is hand-made and no two jeepneys are the same. | 02:35 |
| But to keep costs down, as much as possible is recycled, including the engines. | 02:42 |
Japanese engine | Eric; Right, so you take a second-hand engine from Japan and you put that in a Jeepney. Ric: It's cheaper. Cheaper, yes. | 02:48 |
Manila jeepney montage | Music | 02:55 |
| CAMPBELL: Recycling makes jeepneys affordable for owners as well as passengers. | 03:06 |
Efran driving jeepney | Efran Andal saved money working as a labourer in Saudi Arabia to buy his first jeepney. He's now got five. | 03:12 |
| Efran: If it's running good, level and good looking, | 03:22 |
Efran | if you put more decorations... if you put more decorations the more it will look good, so the people are more attracted to ride in it. | 03:26 |
Manila jeepney montage | Music | 03:35 |
| CAMPBELL: The craze for decorating jeepneys has made streets look like alleys in a pinball machine. | 03:42 |
| Riding them is like being a pinball. | 03:50 |
| For the past few years jeepneys have been having a rough ride. More people are buying foreign cars. The government's brought in tougher pollution controls. And it's even cutting back the number of transportation permits to ease congestion. So is it the end of the road for the Philippines' national icon? | 03:56 |
Ric's jeepney factory | Music | 04:14 |
| CAMPBELL: Hundreds of backyard jeepney businesses have closed, but the bigger factories are fighting back. | 04:17 |
| Ric David has taken his business upmarket - building prestige models to take on the world. | 04:24 |
| Ric: I have one jeep there, this is for Dubai you know. I speak also with one guy that's from Australia. | 04:32 |
Ric | Eric: Right, so there could be jeepneys running down Australian streets pretty soon? Ric: Yes. They are now starting with this one. Eric: I'll look forward to that. | 04:38 |
‘Hammer' jeepneys | Music | 04:50 |
| CAMPBELL: But perhaps this is the way of the future. | 04:58 |
Jappy posing by ‘Hammer' | For two generations, Jappy Alana's family made jeepneys based on the World War Two jeep, the Willy. | 05:03 |
| Now they're modelling cars on the 21st century jeep, the Hummer. For legal reasons, they call it the Hammer. Jappy: The unit cost | 05:10 |
Jappy driving | is only a fifth of the price of the original. Eric: So how do you make it so cheaply? Jappy: We don't have the technology or the military... everything that the original has. | 05:24 |
| Eric: Is there any demand for a bullet-proof Hammers? Jappy: Oh yes, | 05:37 |
| down south in Mindanao area, there are some clients who would order bullet resistant units. Eric: In case they're attacked by rebels? Jappy: Yes. | 05:41 |
Jeepneys | Music | 05:52 |
| CAMPBELL: Even in these challenging times, most believe the jeepney will endure. This American cast-off has become a Filipino original. | 05:57 |
| And like the country itself -- ramshackle, chaotic and colourful -- it just keeps rolling along. | 06:08 |
| Music | 06:15 |
Credits | Reporter : Eric Campbell Producer : Marianne Leitch Camera: David Leland Editor : Bryan Milliss |
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| 06:22 |