‘Life’s possibilities on the open road’: Ilonggo driver shows trusting the journey leads to a better destination

Life is never a smooth voyage.  It will always be peppered with frustrating detours, challenging roadblocks, and unexpected stops.  But sometimes, when you stop pressuring yourself and just truly trust the process, your dreams—in whatever shape or form—will somehow navigate their way back to you.  This explains the life story of Leopoldo, or “Boy,” who once put his dream of becoming a seaman aside. An established GrabCar partner based in Iloilo City, he has sent his sons to good schools.  Now, he is a content father of a seafarer, proud that his son is living the life that he once wanted.

“Pagka-graduate ko sa maritime school, hindi na ako nagpunta sa Manila para mag-apply bilang seaman dahil magastos.   Kahit matulog ako sa Luneta okay lang sana kaso magbabayad ako sa application, bibili pa ng pagkain sa araw-araw, pamasahe, wala akong ganoong budget panggastos. Wala rin akong kakilala o kamag-anak sa Manila, kaya kinalimutan ko na lang ang ambisyon kong maging seaman sana.  Pero happy ako dahil di man naabot yung gusto ko, at least naigapang ko ang pag-aaral ng anak kong seaman na ngayon.  Kaya parang natupad ko na rin ang pangarap ko (When I graduated from maritime school, I no longer pursued applying in Manila.  I could sleep in Luneta, that’s not a problem but I needed to pay for the application, buy my food daily, transportation, I didn’t have that budget.  I didn’t have a friend or relative in Manila, so I decided to forego my ambition to be a seaman.  But I’m happy because although I didn’t achieve what I wanted, I have sent my son to school, and he’s a seaman now.  So, somehow, it’s like I have also achieved my dream),” Boy explained with a smile.

Boy started as a taxi driver in 1991, a time when taxis did not even have air conditioning, as he would recall. After five years, he resigned from the taxi company and shifted to driving a passenger jeepney, following a popular Jaro-CPU city route.  However, he couldn’t stand the traffic, heat, and dust that came with his daily trips, so he decided to go back to being a taxi driver once again.  When Grab was launched in Iloilo City in 2015, Boy—a hardworking driver at the taxi company—was allowed to enroll his unit as a GrabTaxi. This is when his life took the right turn because since 2022, he already drives his own GrabCar unit!

“Nakaipon ako ng pang-downpayment sa kotse dahil sa pagga-GrabTaxi ko.  Kahit hulugan itong kotse kada buwan, next year matatapos na ako rito.  Dahil sa GrabTaxi at ngayon sa GrabCar, nalipay gid ko nga wala na ako ga-boundary adlaw-adlaw kay may awto na ko (GrabTaxi has allowed me to saved enough money for a downpayment for a car, and although I am still paying this, I will be done with the monthly payments by next year. Because of my stints with GrabTaxi then, and GrabCar now, I am so happy to finally say that I don’t do daily boundary anymore because I have my own car!” the 63-year-old Ilonggo driver gushed.

 Boy is still in disbelief about how much he is now earning from being a GrabCar partner. Apart from purchasing his own vehicle through his hard work and dedication, he was also able to send his sons to school, and both are employed now—one in an appliance retail store and the other, a seafarer for an international tanker. With his earnings, he has also established a small sari-sari store business for his wife and acquired a parcel of land in Oton, a town that’s roughly a 15-minute drive from Iloilo City. Certainly, these are things he can only imagine having then.

“Malaki talaga ang tulong ng Grab para sa driver na tulad ko.  Marami kaming incentives Bale maliban sa kita ko sa araw-araw, may additional income pa agad ako monthly dahil sa dami ng incentives. Binibigyan pa kami ng extra voucher sa Generika.  Yun naman ay binibili ko ng maintenance kong gamot (Grab is really a big help for drivers like me. They offer a lot of incentives.So, aside from my daily income, I still have an additional income monthly because of the various incentives. We are even given vouchers for Generika drugstore, which I use to buy my maintenance medicines),” he shared.

This is why Boy treats his livelihood with extra caution and care, treats his passengers with utmost respect, and maintains the cleanliness in his GrabCar unit.  While he grinds tirelessly, as he works from 7am until 7pm, he sure knows how to practice work-life balance.  “Walang coding dito sa Iloilo, so araw-araw ang biyahe ko. Kapag Linggo, naglalaba ako kaya ang byahe ko after lunch na, at tuwing umaga, sabay kami ng misis ko nag-a-almusal at nagkukuwentuhan.  Tapos, araw-araw din, umuuwi ako para mananghalian sa bahay kasama asawa ko, mag-siesta nang saglit bago bumiyahe uli (There is no color-coding for vehicles here in Iloilo, so I get to work daily. During Sundays, I do my laundry, so I usually drive after lunch. In the morning, my wife and I talk over breakfast, and I do go home for lunch with her every day, then nap, before going back to work again),” he explained.

For Boy, driving for Grab is more than just a livelihood, it has become a way of life and being part of a team, as he proudly shared how he cherishes the camaraderie he and his fellow drivers have, and how they support each other through tough days. “Sila din ang mga kasama ko noon nung nasa GrabTaxi pa lang ako, at halos lahat kami may mga GrabCar units na rin.  Naga-buligay kami diri, bisan sa mga advice kag encouragement (They are the same group I had when we were still doing GrabTaxi, and almost every one of us have our own GrabCar units now.  We help each other here, even with advice and encouragement),” Boy smiled.

He is looking forward to purchasing another unit as soon as he can save up enough funds.  He also sees himself being a GrabCar partner five or 10 years from now, or at least while his lifetime will bless him with good health: “Tani palawigon pa sang Ginuo ang kabuhi ko kay ma-Grab man ko gihapon hasta san-o nga masarangan ko (I hope the Lord will bless me with a long life because I intend to work for Grab as long as I can do it),” he added.  Boy is one proud GrabCar partner because his livelihood provided him with the opportunity to provide for his family, acquire assets and a property, and a chance to have his son relish the dream he once wished to fulfill. 

“Sang una, ginapangamuyuan ko lang nga makatapos ako mga bata sa pag-eskwela,” he shared, his face lit up with pride. “Pero sang nag-drive ako sa Grab, nalab-ot ko pa gid ang mas madamo pa nga handum (Before, all I prayed for was to have my children finish school. But when I started driving for Grab, I achieved even more dreams).”

So, if you happen to book Boy’s GrabCar, or if you see this familiar face driving around the streets of the City of Love, please take a moment to remember how his humble life story has carried a torch for each of us to see deeply.  He is a living reminder that life may hand us a lot of roadblocks along the way, but these detours do not mean dead-end; they are redirections.  They pave the way to beautiful destinations we can only dream of. And just like him, all we have to do is to just trust the journey and embrace the ride.

INQUIRER.net BrandRoom/JC

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