In this photo taken on April 3, 2024, an older model of a passenger jeepney produced since the 1950s by Sarao Motors, is displayed at the workshop in Las Pinas City, suburban Manila. About 70 years after the first jeepneys rolled on to the streets of the Philippines, the noisy, smoke-belching vehicles face an existential threat from a plan to replace them with modern mini-buses.
Production at the family-owned company's sprawling facility in the capital Manila peaked in the 1970s and 1980s, with workers making 50 to 60 jeepneys per month. "We've had customers that have been around since the '50s, so they've been purchasing jeepneys, making their fleet bigger," said Sarao, 31. Cooperatives will be able to access bank financing and receive a government subsidy for each vehicle to ease the financial burden of the transition.
Jeepney operator Flocerfida Majadas, 62, said she was worried about the future of her drivers if she were to go broke. "Once a customer buys a jeepney from us any mechanic in the provinces or the far flung regions can fix it," Sarao said. "Our families will starve if we do not get to drive our jeepneys... all we know is driving," Caparino, 60, said.