70-year-old taxi driver suffered from stroke 3 times, but still works to feed 4 grandchildren
70-year-old taxi driver (Photo from Facebook)
Poverty in the Philippines can be seen in many people who work hard, day and night. This 70-year-old driver works hard despite health problems just to feed his 4 grandchildren. Men and women his age should be at home relaxing and resting. But since his only daughter was recently released from a mental hospital, he is forced to make a living just to feed his large family. He recently suffered from a stroke (3rd time) and is was not able to drive for quite some time, so now he is making up for it. He drives for almost a day just to bring home a little money for his family. Here is a Facebook post about his story:
70-year-old Luisito Tuzon, taxi driver (Photo from Facebook)
Post by Hannie Espino
“Everything happens for a reason”
Eto n ata ang pinka gamit n gamit n quote n alam q. Pero ttoo nmn kc.
Friday, 7 February 2014 – BCG Taguig.
Habang ang lahat sa office ay nagmamadaling umuwi or gumimik, sanay ako n maiwan. Bakit? Kc traffic, mahaba pila sa FX Market Market, may tinatapos pa ako. Pero, bakit nga ba di pa ko umuuwi? Ewan ko din. So, after ko magligpit ng gamit ko, nakipagdaldalan muna ako (as usual) tpos bumaba n ng building ng 8:59PM (according kay Kuya Guard). Di ako nagttaxi pauwi, BGC shuttle tpos FX. Ganon lang. Pero nsa lobby pa lng ako, may natanaw akong taxi “hmmm luma” sbi ko sa sarili ko. “magttaxi kea ako”?
Sinipat ko un sasakyan habang papalabas ng building. “Naku, luma dba ganyan un sa mga scam sa taxi”, sa isip isip ko. Sa likod ng taxi, may paparating na bagong modelo..ayun sakto. Pag-lingon ko sa lumang taxi, sumenyas un driver na para bang halika dto ka na sumakay. Mejo naaninag ko ang imahe ng isang matandang naka-ngiti. Nahiya naman ako sa sarili ko, kc napaka unfair ko naman kung iddiscriminate ko un taxi eh parang kanina p sya nagiintay ng pasahero.
Pagbukas ko ng pinto, ay luma nga, naku baka scam to. So agad ako tumingin sa gilid. Ok may phone number nmn at operator. I took the risk kc plano ko dumaan sa Globe Store s Market Market, kung scam man malapit lng. So sbi ko, “sa Market Market po”. Lumingon yung driver, cguro kasing tanda n ng lolo ko, sa isip ko lang. Tinanong ko sya, “Tay, ilang taon na po kayo”? 70 mag 71 n, sagot nya. Bakas sa mukha nya ang pagkapagod. Di na lang ako dadaan ng Market Market, malliit lng kikitain nya pg dun ako nagpahatid. Kaya sabi ko, “Tay, ok lng po ba sa Pasig na lang”? Ok daw, walang problema, bigkas nya habang nakangiti. I am a lolo’s girl kaya sobra ako naawa kay Tatay driver. In short, ininterview ko sya habang binabagtas ang C5. At eto ang kanyang kwento…
Sya c Luisito Tuzon, 70 years old, Taxi driver. Naninirahan sa Phase 6 Blk 22 Lot 24 Carissa Homes Tanza Cavite. Gumagarahe sa Palanan Makati, at uuwi sa Tanza. Ngaun araw nlng ulit sya naglabas ng taxi dahil noong 23 December 2013, nstroke sya (pang 3 beses n dw nya un atake mild lang un last one). Umurong ang dila nya at di makapagsalita. Pero sa awa ni Papa God, gumaling sya. Pumunta sya sa dati nyang amo para makiusap na magdrive ulit. Nagulat ang amo nya kc akala patay n sya after mastroke. Bakit pa sya mag taxi driver ulit? Dahil naawa sya 4 nyang apo (ages 1-5) wala ng mainom n gatas lalo n dw un pinakamaliit. Am nlng at pisong asukal ang pinapadede nilang mag-asawa (58yo-labandera). Nagiisang anak nila un nanay ng mga bata. Kalalabas lang sa Mental. Naging tulala daw after mamatay un asawa at nung burol di nila alam n may tunay palang pamilya un lalaki kinuha un bangkay. Pinalayas sila sa nirrentahan nilang apartment at kinuha ang mga gamit nila dahil di sila nakakabayad. Unti-unti naubos ang mga gamit nilang natira dahil binebenta nila may pangkain lang. Pinatira sila ng kumare nila sa Carissa Homes at pinauupahan ang bahay ng 600 pesos. Mabait daw un dahil pag wala silang pera di sila sinisingil. Nagbaka sakali syang magdrive dahil walang nagpapalaba sa kanila. Nagaalalala nga daw un asawa nya at tinanong kung kaya ba daw pa nya mag drive. Kaya daw nya, kc kung di sya kikilos kawawa nmn ang mga apo nya, maliliit pa.
Kitang kita ko ang hapdi sa bawat bigkas nya ng kwento. Matanda n sya pero kinakaya nya. Kea sa lahat ng sumakay sa taxi ngaun araw, sinasakay nya at he is truthful, di humihingi ng dagdag. Sbi ni Tatay Lui (palayaw dw nya) ang pray nya kanina sana daw kumita manlang sya para may pambili ng pagkain at gatas. Kc dw pati un iba n nilang damit nabenta n nila ng 20 pesos. Naghiram pa sya ng 100 sa kapitbahay pamasahe mula Tanza hanggang Makati. From 6AM-6AM the next day ang byahe nya. Boundary – P1300 (binawasan ng amo nya ng 200 kc 1500 tlga). Tinanong ko kung magkano na kinita nya from 6AM to 9PM. Naka 1300 n daw sya pero magpapagas p ng 500 at from 12MN – 6AM un na dw un kita nya after boundary. P1300-500=800. Kailangan p nya ng 500 ulit para mabuo un P1300 and the rest kita na nya. Di ko kayang isipin na baka di sya umabot sa boundary fee or kung 200 lng ang matatakehome nya sa 24 hours na pagddrive. Sbi ko wag na sya bumyahe magpahinga na sya babayaran ko un buong boundary nya. Daan kme sa ATM. Bngyan ko sya ng 1300 at dinagdagan ko ng 200 kc di pa sya ng ddinner. Ansaya sya nya at mabbili n nya ng pagkain at gatas ang pamilya nya. Ambait dw ni Lord sabi nya kc grinant un prayer nya. 20 minutes pala sya nag aantay ng pasahero sa tapat ng building ko.
Plano ko tlga umuwi ng maaga after work pero ngaun alam ko n kung bakit late na ko umuwi. Mjo mabigat un inabot ko n pera kay Tatay Lui kc di naman kalakihan ang sweldo ko pero di ako nagdalawang isip kc alam ko mas kailangan nya un kesa sakin.
Paki share po para makarating sa mga taong MAS mabbigyan sila ng tulong.
Wala syang cellphone number kc wala sila cellphone. Uunahin pa b dw ba nya un (pabirong sbi nya).
Rough translation:
“Everything happens for a reason”
This is the most overused quote I know. But it is the truth.
Friday, 7 February 2014 – BCG Taguig
While everybody’s rushing to go home or have a night out, I am used to being left alone. Why? Aside from traffic and there’s a long queue to get into an FX at Market Market—I am still not done with my work. So why haven’t I gone home yet? I don’t know really. So, after I tidied up my things, I had a little chat (as usual) before going down the building at 8:59 (according to the security guard). I don’t usually take a taxi, I just ride the BGC shuttle then FX. Simple as that. But, from the lobby I could see a taxi. “hmm old,” I thought to myself. “Will I ride a taxi?”
I took a good look at the vehicle as I was heading out the building. I then thought to myself: “Oh no, aren’t old models the ones used to scam passengers?” A new model was approaching and I thought it’s just perfect. When I looked back at the older taxi, the driver gestured for me to ride his taxi. I saw the face of an old man smiling at me. I was ashamed of myself, and it would be unfair if I discriminated him (because of how old his vehicle was) when in fact he has been waiting for a passenger for quite some time.
When I opened the door, I saw that the taxi was indeed old, and again thought that this may be a scam. And so I checked the side of the taxi first. It was okay since the taxi had its operator’s number and I planned to pass by a Globe store in Market Market which was close by. “Go to Market Market please,” I told the driver. When the driver looked at me, he reminded me of my grandfather and thought that they may be the same age. “How old are you sir?” I asked. “I’m 70 turning 71,” he answered. I could see in his face that he was tired. I’ll not pass by Market Market anymore, since he would only earn a small amount from the trip. “Sir is it okay if we just go to Pasig instead?” I asked again. He said okay, it’s not a problem, while he was smiling. I am a ‘lolo’s girl’ that’s why I felt a little pity towards him. In short, I interviewed him while we were passing by C5. This is his story:
He is Luisito Tuzon, 70 years old, a taxi driver. He lives in Phase 6 Blk 22 Lot 24 Carissa Homes Tanza Cavite. He parks his taxi at Palanan Makati, and goes home to Tanza. This is the first day he resumed driving, because he suffered a stroke (3rd time, but the last one was mild) last 23 December 2014. He was not able to talk because of the stroke. But thank God, he was able to heal. He went to his former employer and pleaded to drive again. The owner was shocked to see him, as they thought he already died from the stroke. Why does he need to drive again? Because he felt bad for his 4 grandchildren (ages 1-5) since they do not have money for milk especially the youngest one. The couple only feed the children Am and 1 peso worth of sugar, his wife is a 58yo laundry maid. Their only daughter is the mother of the 4 children, who just came out of a mental hospital. She was always staring into empty space after her husband died. She did not even know that her husband had another family, who came and claimed his body. They were driven away from their apartment, and their belongings have been taken since they were not able to pay the rent. A friend allowed them to stay at Carissa Homes for a low rent of 600 pesos a month. The driver said that their friend was nice, as she would not ask for rent when she knows that they have no money. His wife is worried and kept asking if he can still drive. He says he still can, and if said that if he doesn’t do something, his grandchildren will be the ones to suffer.
I can see that hurt in every word he uttered. He is old but he still tries so hard. That’s why that day, he took every opportunity to take passengers, and asked for the exact amount with no extra charges. Sir Lui (his nickname) said that he prays to earn just enough for food and milk. Because even their clothes have been sold for a mere 20 pesos. He even borrowed 100 pesos from a neighbor for his fare from Tanza to Makati. From 6AM-6AM the next day is his driving time. Boundary – P1300 (the owner deducted 200 since it is actually 1500). I asked him how much he earns from 6AM to 9PM. He said he already has 1300 but he needs to refuel for 500 at from 12MN – 6AM, and that is what he earns after boundary: P1300-500=800. He needs another 500 to get 1300, and all that will earn after that is his. I couldn’t think that he might not be able to reach his boundary fee, or at least take home 200 pesos in his 24-hour drive. I told him to stop driving and go home to rest, and I will pay for his boundary fee. We passed by an atm. I gave him 1300 and added 200 because he said he hasn’t eaten dinner yet. He was so happy and said that he would be able to buy food and milk for his family. He said that God is good as He granted the driver’s prayer. He said he has been waiting for 20 minutes for a passenger in front of my building.
I intended to go home early today, but now I know what I felt like going home late. The amount I gave him was a big deal for me since my salary is not that big, but I did not have second thoughts because I knew he needed it more.
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He does not have a cellphone number since he has no cellphone.
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