The Politics of Hitchhiking Culture in the Philippines

The Politics of Hitchhiking Culture in the Philippines

What is hitchhiking? What are the reasons why we travel this way?

The word hitchhiking comes from the western slang that refers to getting a free lift from one place to another. This has been practiced for centuries in western countries. But in the Philippine context, the history of hitch hiking has never been traced or documented. From the time punk culture boomed in mid 80’s, it spread to all ages especially the youth. In late 90’s, several punk started embracing the theory of anarchism, many managed to establish contacts from foreign countries and received various kinds of informative reading materials about anarchism, D.I.Y. ethics and other radical ideas. In addition, they also received punk stuffs such as fanzine, audio tapes, patches, etc. From the materials they read, they were exposed to post mainstream ideas such as anti commercialism, anti authoritarianism, etc. From there many punks started hitting the road through hitchhiking. One of the known bands in the punk scene is “Not4Sale”, a radical group from Manila who travelled around the archipelago in the late 90’s to early 2000. The group influenced many punks in the scene during their time and encouraged every punk kid to embrace hitchhiking and anarchist activism and it became the life style of random punks around the archipelago. Now most member of the group ended up to ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) an organization of Hare Krishna practitioners.

Out of my curiosity, I started asking my neighbors about hitchhiking. From my inquiry I was surprised with all their answers regarding the culture of hitchhiking. In the 70’s, many locals were already doing it. They simply get a free ride on the trucks carrying fruits, vegetables and logs that go to the town. They call it “okasyon” in local term. At that time, there’s not much public transport in rural and remote areas. According to my grandfather’s personal experience, he ran away from home during his teens and went to Davao from Cebu. He was also engaged in “okasyon” through private vehicles and according to him, it’s easier that time compared to the present because many laws were made regarding public transport.

Why hitchhiking?

Hitchhiking is not limited; everyone can do this whether young or old as long as your body can manage.

Hitchhiking is free traveling where there’s no need to depend on tourism or in any promotions from travel agencies at your own discretion. That is, you’re able to control your time and choose your destination. By which, we lessen our support to huge public transport companies that exploit passengers and workers. In addition, it is also a way to minimize our energy consumption per capita.

There are many good things pervasive in the culture of hitchhiking such as increased self-esteem, heightened awareness of consumer culture, established friendship and enhanced street skills. Added to that, you will also feel the hospitality of anyone you may encounter in the road and see the beautiful landscapes along your travel. Every person traveling this way has a story and experience to share. Many even became popular in traveling this way just like Chris McCondless, the protagonist from the book “Into The Wild” (Jon Krakauer, 1996) and Juan Pablo Villarino with his partner, Laura who hitchhiked in Middle East and Europe, and many others.

According to some of our friends from Europe and Asia Pacific, it’s much easy and comfortable to hitch in this archipelago compared to other places they have been to. On one hand, some people here are hospitable and kind to foreign travelers. Well, this is not a promotion, these are all firsthand accounts. On the other, some are aggressive and hostile. Another experience they had while having fun boarding behind the big trucks is, sometimes people greets them with big sweet smile along the way saying “HEY JOE!” If you’re a

European or from another part of the globe you might get confused about it, but don’t feel being discriminated. Most Filipinos stereotype white people as Americans, mainly because of the long occupation of American soldiers during the American colonial times here in this archipelago. Don’t get pissed they just want to be friendly. You can also respond by yelling “Hey JUAN!”

Sometimes accidents are inevitable, but we can prevent them through self-discipline and responsible actions. There was an unexpected event from the past like of the SAGADA 11, a crowd of hitchhiker punks and backpackers who were arrested and tortured. Due to the suspicious minds of the merciless police they were accused as NPAs and imprisoned for 10 months. This situation suggests that it’s better if we make bogus identification for security purposes. Another variable to consider is the possibility of being beaten by hooligans and gangsters. Here are some things to keep in mind:

 Don’t be arrogant and braggart

 Be humble during the conversation

 Explain the reason why you do hitchhiking

 Be pacifist as much as possible

 Carry pepper/chili spray

 Learn self-defense

Have fun and have a safe road trip!