Piston’s George San Mateo, a progressive transport leader
Piston and some of its national leaders have become popular, and as such targets of vilification, because they consistently oppose the exploitation of drivers and Filipinos in general by the oil cartel and all those who “collude” with it.By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — When transport leader George San Mateo and other leaders of Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) board a bus, there are times when its conductor would not allow them to pay their fares. “We in Piston would tell the conductor and driver: ‘Thank you, but the company might deduct it from your own pay,’ and we would insist on paying. But they wouldn’t let us,” George told Bulatlat.com in an interview.
He quoted some bus conductors as telling him: “We are comrades – and you have been helping us a lot.” That thought never fails to count for San Mateo; he had thought Piston is more known among jeepney drivers than bus employees.
Since 2007, San Mateo has been serving as the national secretary general of Piston, an organization whose members so far came mostly from organizations of jeepney and FX taxi drivers and small operators.
Today, George San Mateo and Piston are household names in consistently questioning the abuses of the monopoly oil companies, the oil deregulation law that made it legal and possible, and the seeming paralysis of the government in checking alleged oil overpricing and runaway profit margins. Piston has also distinguished itself from other transport organizations in having resolutely sought to oppose “unjust oil price increases,” rather than immediately asking for fare hikes or other ‘non-solutions.’
In this way, Piston has courted the support and sympathy of the riding public, as the group urges the public to see the mass transport drivers for what they are— a part of the downtrodden, exploited and oppressed people in Philippine society— and not the ‘enemy’ or ‘undisciplined traffic violator’ that the government would have anyone believe. For the tag of the ‘enemy,’ Piston leaders and members have pointed its finger to the oil cartel instead. And to whoever is taking the side of this oil cartel, for example, as Piston often said, the energy department and President Benigno S. Aquino III himself.
Since Aquino’s last-minute “dialogue” with transport leaders failed to derail the impending transport strike, while their energy undersecretary’s initial efforts to sow confusion among the public about Piston’s supposed suggestion to “strengthen”, and not repeal, the Oil Deregulation Law, also reportedly failed to remove public support to Piston’s calls to protest oil overpricing, Malacañang and other officials have appeared preoccupied in belittling the strike and those who led it, such as Piston..... MORE
Source: Bulatlat.com
URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/09/23/piston%E2%80%99s-george-san-mateo-a-progressive-transport-leader/
1 comment
ito nga sana ang itatanong ko eh. ito ang hindi maganda. rationalized pa ang pagiging two- or multiple-timer. dapat bilang isang lider ay maging magandang ehemplo ka sana sa ethics matters. pero saludo sa pagiging pinuno mo ng piston.
"Filipino drivers pride themselves for being “sweet lovers.” San Mateo’s busy job takes him all over the country to meet, swear in, consult with various local chapters of Piston. Since he started working as a driver, he said he had had a succession of three failed relationships. It was at his fourth serious relationship that, he joked, he had perhaps finally learned how to strengthen his girlfriend’s helmet so she would understand his long and consuming working hours."
Post a Comment