Amid the cab driving industry being dominated by men, Rosita “Rose” Taneo bloomed as the rose among the thorns, and she’s extraordinary.
Originally from Bacolod, the 62-year-old lady taxi driver narrated her story to The Filipino Times.
She moved to Manila in the 70s to pursue a Business and Administration degree in the Philippine Christian University.
When she graduated in 1982, she worked in several office-based jobs in the city until she got laid off from work in 1992.
It was then when she decided to try her luck in the Middle East. As an ‘alternate route’, she took the challenge of becoming a family driver for an Egyptian family in Al Ain, until she decided to return to her homeland.
She recalled growing thin out of exhaustion from her all-around duty for the family. “Sa madaling salita, di ko siguro hiyang doon, kaya di ako para doon,” she told TFT.
When she got back to Manila, despite having a BA degree major in Banking and Finance, it never crossed her mind to change lanes. She still chose to help her older brother by driving his cab instead.
“Halos [buong] buhay ko ginugol ko para tumulong sa mga pamangkin ko, mga kamaganak ko, at kapatid. Inuuna ko talaga sila kasi may kasabihan ang Panginoon na unahin mo muna ang iba kaysa sa sarili mo,” she shared.
Nanay Rose takes pride in the fact that, with her hard-earned money through driving, she was able to pay for the education of her nephews and nieces, and buy two houses and her own cab.
“Sa sipag, tiyaga at panalangin, talagang makuha mo talaga ang wish mo…ano [mang] hihingin mo sa Panginoon, ibibigay niya,” Nanay Rose added.
After more than two decades in the industry, she refuses to tire, insisting that she is still in good health and has more than enough energy to keep driving.
“Magtrabaho pa habang kaya. ‘Yung iba kasi dito walang ginawa kundi mag-chismisan, at magsugal,” she said, adding that,“‘Yun lang ang binigay ng Panginoon sa ‘kin eh, sipag.”
But in her decades of being a taxi driver, Nanay Rose said she had also been subjected to bullying and judgments before because of her job and gender.
When asked how she manged to cross the intersections of life as a taxi driver, she said: “Huwag mong ikakahiya kung anong standing mo, kung anong sigasig mo sa buhay, ‘wag mo ikakahiya. Basta ang importante, wala kang naaargabyadong tao, at wala kang hinihinging tulong sa iba.”
Nowadays, she said, it barely matters what job one has because it is all about survival.
“Sa panahon ngayon, hindi na natin hinahangad na yayaman tayo. Ang importante makasurvive tayo, na makakain tayo sa isang araw tatlong beses, or more than tatlong beses. Mainam yun…simple living,” she explained.
Her advice for fellow Filipinos living abroad?
“Dapat magsigasig tayo, pakilala natin sa buong mundo na ang Pilipino, matiyaga, maski nang anong trabaho pa ‘yan.“
When asked if she had ever regret leaving the UAE, Nanay Rose said she didn’t, but thankful that her journey as an OFW before gave her valuable lessons along the way.
As a parting word from her, Nanay Rose said that in the highway of life, no one should never get stuck.
“I-continue mo lang buhay. Whether naging successful ka o hindi, laging may panahon para bumawi. Huwag ka lang huminto.”
She majored in banking and finance and ended up being a cab driver. this isn’t worthy of a praise story IMO