VIDEO Q&A WITH A DRIVER OF THE VINTAGE WALL-LESS VICTORY LINER BUS

 My video interview with the driver of a vintage opened wall bus of Victory Liner being displayed at the Capitol ground in Lingayen, Pangasinan. This bus is nostalgic for me upon seeing it because of the similar busses Dangwa, BAL and others that passed by our house at the PMA, Baguio City in the early 1970s.

 V I D E O

Victory Liner's driver Francis Patacsil of Baguio City told me that the open busses of Victory Liner plied from Baguio City to Olongapo City vice versa in the 1950s to the 1970s. Victory started, he said, as a logistics bus business but when people rode on it for a fee, the owner put the cargoes at the roof and skirt panels while he built passengers' seats to accommodate the burgeoning number of the riding public that patronize the company.

***

I had an animated conversation yesterday with Francis Patacsil (at the lower right photo) - a driver of Victory Liner, Inc. open walled bus being displayed at the Capitol Ground in Lingayen, Pangasinan.

When I told him that when I was working at the Philippines Military Academy in Baguio City in the late 1980s, I saw U.S built Peterbilt colossal dumped trucks (a photo of the truck is at the top photo) passing infront of the main gate of the Academy.

"Wala na iyong mga Peterbilt, Sir. Noong si (Tycoon) Manny Pangilinan na ang nagpatakbo ng Philex Mine pinalitan na ang mga lumang Peterbilt ng Volvo (lower left photo)," Francis, a son of the driver of the Peterbuilt at Philex told me.

"Volvo! German made din iyon e di mahal din," I retorted.

He said the U.S made Peterbuilt is equivalent to two Volvos. Philex tried, Francis added, to use Japanese huge dumptrucks to carry ore and other minerals from the punishing zigzag rough and tumble routes of Philex to Poro Point in San Fernando, La Union but they did not last thus the procurement of Volvo.

By the way, Francis said that Victory Liner is using China made Yultong aircon busses because three of the busses are equivalent to the price of one Nissan made Japanese aircon bus.