JOY RIDES

I just got a circulating email from a friend in San Diego ... it's some sort of a warning but anyone from the Philippines does not need any of these anymore as we all know how and what it is all about being "there". Anyway, I just found this sort of email "nakakatuwa" as you can really imagine and feel the daily smell, sounds and drama of Manila. And just observer how she writes it - so pinoy ! Sad to say, I sort of miss all of these.... --------------------------------- Thanks God for e-mails like this one, kasi if I haven't read this, I could have fallen victim to this type of new Modus Operandi (MO) while riding a jeepney. It has happened to me this morning around 8:00am. And believe me, I think there are at least 4 people involved in this type of MO. CASE # 1: On the way ako to work this morning when 3 men got on the jeep I was riding (Pasig route) dun sa may Samat St. sa may Shaw Blvd. (before flyover). Medyo meron lang akong naramdaman na kakaiba coz I was sure I zipped my bag after I have paid the fare. (Syet, bago pa naman bag ko, bigay ng mga frendly frends!!) I noticed that my bag was about 2 inches open na, kaya naging aware ako dun sa mga katabi kong mga lalaki na parang sinandwich na ako. When the jeep was at St. Francis na, dun sa may Sara Lee Building, merong lalaki na umubo ng malakas at dumura. I was sure na hindi naman ako natalsikan kasi hindi naman mahangin and I saw that he partially covered his mouth when he spat out yung chuvers (laway ba…) niya. Tapos, I felt like yung mama on my right side, medyo dumikit sa Akin at parang meron akong naramdaman na hard object na inilalabas niya from his pocket somewhere. Now, there is a big, burly man right across me na kanina pa ako naiilang kasi parang sinisipat niya ako, as in nakatitig. I noticed I was the only girl in the jeep na at that time, buti na lang meron isang babae na sumakay pa. Tapos, yung katapat kong mama biglang tinuro yung buhok ko, motioning to me that I have chuvers on my hair, sabay labas ng panyo na aktong pupunasan niya buhok ko. Yun na talaga yung warning sign sa akin and I immediately stood up and got off the jeep! Di ko na nga naisipang parahin yung jeep kasi I just wanted to get off it, buti na lang mabagal pa yung takbo ng sasakyan. Kung nagkataon eh di kagandahan ang nangyari as I am in skirt and siempre naka heels ang lola niyo. The man who was about to wipe my hair, sinundan niya ako ng masamang tingin at nakatitig siya sa akin, especially nung nakita niyang sumakay ako agad ng ibang jeep. Nakita niyang may sinasabi ako dun sa driver habang nakatingin ako sa kanya, and my fellow passengers, as well as the driver all looked at him kaya I was sure he knows I know what they were about to do. Natakot ako lalo kasi naisip kong baka ako abangan at habulin nung mama. Then, nung yung jeep nila andun na sa may corner ng Sheridan St. and Shaw, I saw that the person who coughed and spat when I was in their jeep was the one wiping the hair of the girl na sumakay before I got off! Nag switch na ng roles ang mga panget na lalaki!! Di ko na masigawan yung girl that she will be robbed nung mga lalaking yun kasi nauna na yung jeep na sinasakyan ko. Nanginig ako sa takot talaga kasi feeling ko, ako dapat yung biktima nila that time! And the fact that it happened early morning, nakakatakot talaga. As in ang mga magnanakaw pala, parang empleyado din. They start robbing people at 8am, gosh! As in di ka pa nakakapagkape, nanakawan ka na. PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE WARNING E-MAILS LIKE THIS ONE. YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN IT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU! I'm just lucky that when it happened to me, meron ng nakapag forward ng warning sa akin. I f ever naman me feeling kayo that something is not right sa mga kasakay ninyo sa public transport, please get off it. At least pamasahe lang yun, kesa naman kung ano pa ang mawala sa atin. Also, be aware of who you are beside with. Alam kong di naman lahat ng mga makakatabi niyong mga panget na lalaki eh masasamang tao (kesehodang masama ang mga amoy nila, no!) The point is, always be aware of your surroundings. Ako pa naman di ako mahilig magpo forward ng mga kung ano-anong emails but luckily, the e-mail about this type of MO, I was able to send to some of my friends. Ingat na lang tayo lagi. (Siyet, sa takot ko, di ako tuloy nakapag almusal!!) CASE # 2: Hi! For the past 4 weeks, I've been hearing about a new modus operandi wherein three of my officemates were victimized. And for the last 4 weeks, I've been praying that I be spared from this. I make it a point to pray the Holy Rosary and that I be shielded always. I've been taking extra precautions too: I always take an FX or jeepney from our subdivision to make sure that all the passengers are residents of our subdivision, and I do not bring ATM cards, checkbooks and big amounts of cash. On August 19, Friday around 7am, I took a jeepney going to Crossing United. It was unusual to see that there were a few passengers unlike the regular days when jeepneys and FX are full-packed, only to realize that today is Quezon City day and thus a non-working holiday in QC diminishing considerably passengers taking public transport. Upon reaching Rotonda, Pasig, a lot of commuters hurriedly came up the jeepney I was riding in and got their space. I was seated on the right side of the jeepney and near the entrance. A few minutes after, I noticed at the left side of the jeepney , a thin man spit out of the jeepney's window. On his right was seated a rather dark man (may katabaan), with curly hair and carrying on his right shoulder a dark green canvass bag (almost black), about 2 feet long. Then next to him was lady carrying a pink Sophie Martin sack bag. Then suddenly, the man beside her commented that there was saliva on her hair. At this point, I realized that this was the GANG my officemate (a victim) was referring to. I panicked and wanted to get off the jeepney, but I changed my mind. I stayed there and memorized the face of the "mandurukot". The lady got her hanky and started wiping her hair. The man seated across pointed to her the location of the saliva. She even allowed the man to hold her hanky and wipe her hair while the dark man placed his arm beneath the bag he was carrying and started using his cutter. At this sight, I brought out my rosary and started to pray. But I could not take my eyes off at what the dark man was doing while the lady and the man seated across her were busy wiping her hair. After a few minutes, the dark man (mandurukot) got off infront of Philhealth Office, followed by the thin man (dura man) who got off near Kapitolyo, then the "good samaritan" man (the hair wiper) got off just before SSS office and the last man got off at SSS office. I immediately informed the lady that the man beside her took something from her bag. And sure enough when she checked it, her 2 wallets were gone and there was an ugly slash on the side of the bag. She questioned me why I didn't call her attention, but I told her that I was trying to but since she was wearing a pair of brown shades I could not tell if she was looking at me. A more aggressive reaction from me could alert those con men who could be armed and pose danger to our safety. The con men were gone - with their loot. Poor woman, with her two wallets gone, I offered to give her some money so she could reach her place of work which luckily was also along Pioneer St. What a harrowing experience!! Being an eyewitness to such an incident and so helpless was almost as if I had been the victim. God bless!