Rosalinda R Morgan

Image Credit: Commons.wikipedia.org 

At the end of WWII, with public transport virtually nonexistent, the U.S. Army released surplus jeeps, and enterprising Filipinos converted them into passenger vehicles called Jeepney by lengthening the bodies. Garishly colored jeepneys are as essential and ubiquitous in the Philippines as double-decker buses are in London. The jeepney gets you everywhere you want to go. Etymologically speaking, jeepney combines jeep with jitney to offer low-cost, high-pollution public transit.

What began as the sensible recycling of U.S. Army surplus jeeps, the Jeepneys have grown into a form of traveling pop art. No self-respecting jeepney driver would allow his beloved vehicle to crawl naked through the streets of Manila. A full dressing up is of utmost importance. The chrome bodies, either buffed to a shine or painted in vibrant colors, exhibit a wealth of brazen embellishments: from small silver horses (thick horsepower) on their hoods to non-functional antennae…