MMDA to lady bus drivers: Start sending resumés

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has started accepting applications for lady “bus drivers," barely a week after it broached the idea to the public. An announcement on the MMDA website on Friday night offered free training and work referral to prospective applicants. "MMDA is looking for lady bus drivers. We will provide free training and work referral," it said. Also, it said applicants can send their resumes to the MMDA main office at EDSA corner Orense Street, or via email to jobs@mmda.gov.ph. The MMDA, which is pushing for female bus drivers as a measure to minimize bus-related accidents, earlier offered perks to bus companies that will hire women drivers. Among the proposed perks is an exemption from the number-coding scheme, which MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said should prompt bus firms plying routes in Metro Manila to hire women drivers for their fleets. "We will exempt from UVVRP (Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program) all buses piloted by lady drivers. That is one. We will study other incentives and rewards to bus companies who will try this scheme," he said in an earlier article posted on the MMDA website. “If a bus operator hires a female driver, we can exempt that bus driven by the female driver from our number-coding scheme. This is just one of the possible incentives we may offer," he said in Filipino in an interview on dzBB. Moreover, he said bus firms can hire the women drivers to replace male drivers who are suspended or undergoing seminars for traffic violations. "Ang may violation na driver na hindi pansamantala makabibiyahe, ang ating panukala maglagay tayo ng bagong hire na wala pang mantsa o record sa Land Transportation Office, o MMDA at ang inirerekomenda natin, kababaihan," he said. Tolentino had proposed to bus firms that they hire women drivers, citing the tendency of women to take safety precautions and not to be aggressive on the road. He also cited studies indicating fewer women figure in deadly accidents and cases of drunk driving. Tolentino noted several buses had already figured in deadly accidents in Metro Manila in past months. Also, he pointed out women can easily handle the buses as they now have amenities such as power steering. But an earlier dzBB report said bus operators are initially cold to the proposal, saying there are very few women drivers who may want to drive the buses. Initial support Tolentino said he had conducted initial discussions with Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Chairman Nelson Laluces and Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz on the matter, adding Baldoz had been supportive of his proposal. He said the Labor Department can craft appropriate rules and regulations that will ensure good working conditions for women bus drivers. MMDA figures showed that 260 male drivers figured in fatal road accidents last year, while women drivers figured in only 60. For the same period, MMDA records also showed 9,526 men figured in non-fatal road accidents while women figured in only 3,605. Don't underestimate women "We should not underestimate what women can do. Provided with sufficient training, they can easily handle these city buses," Tolentino said. He noted that there have been several Filipino women who have dominated international motor sports competitions, such as Gaby dela Merced, a Formula 3 racecar driver, and Mandaluyong City-born Michelle Marie Bumgarner, who at the age of 19 won the Tag Seniors Crown kart racing at the Illinois Grand Prix on 2008. Women drivers may also undergo training and certification from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) which is being proposed for bus drivers following the spates of road accidents involving buses nationwide, Tolentino added. "Bus companies also need not give their women drivers additional benefits. There are existing labor laws that define each employee's benefits, including health concerns," Tolentino pointed out. He added he already conferred with Secretary Baldoz regarding the work terms and conditions for women drivers on entry level in the public transport industry. Also, he said that under existing labor laws, private companies are required to hire female employees based on gender equality and norms as required by several United Nations Conventions of which the Philippines is a signatory. — LBG, GMANews.TV