Passengers Receive Free Concert Featuring Mix of Reggie Santos, Celine Dion, and One AC/DC Song No One Can Explain

Manila Jeepney Plays Seventeen Songs, None of Which Were Requested

Passengers Receive Free Concert Featuring Mix of Reggie Santos, Celine Dion, and One AC/DC Song No One Can Explain

Fourteen passengers on a Pasay-bound jeepney from Baclaran were treated Tuesday to an unprompted forty-minute musical experience curated entirely by driver Manong Ferdie, 52, who operates both vehicle and sound system with the conviction of a man who has thought deeply about the playlist and is correct about it. The concert began with three consecutive Reggie Santos tracks, transitioned through early 2000s OPM, detoured into a live Sharon Cuneta recording from 1994, and concluded unexpectedly with AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” at a volume that caused a sleeping passenger to awaken, briefly assess the situation, and return to sleep with an expression of acceptance. “I don’t choose the music for me,” Manong Ferdie explained at the terminal. “I choose it for the passengers. The passengers need energy.” When it was noted that several appeared to be trying to sleep, Manong Ferdie nodded. “Sleep is energy,” he said — a philosophical position that ended the conversation. His jeepney is among the dwindling traditional fleet facing government phase-out in favor of modernized E-jeepneys, which are quieter, air-conditioned, and universally described by regular commuters as “not the same.” Manong Ferdie acknowledged the changes but noted his speaker system would outlast the policy. He then pressed play on AC/DC again.

SOURCE: Bohiney News.