When riding a jeepney, Filipinos will typically say “bayad po” before handing in one’s payment, and other passengers will hand the money to the driver. But what if the passenger next to us is a foreigner, who may not speak or understand Filipino? Have you ever thought of what words to say?
Since English is the language of instruction in schools, Filipinos are fluent in the language. However, for the same reasons, they may feel nervous while conversing with a foreigner, particularly in unforeseen circumstances like passing fares inside jeepneys.
In a TikTok post, a user named Ms. Steffy shared a video with the caption “Tulungan nyo ko ano ba dapat sabihin sa kanya? [Help me, what should I say to her?]” showing her holding money to pay for jeepney fare but there is a foreign woman seated close to the driver.
@bogart8269Me: asa ang 15 kowens♬ original sound – Ms.steffy
Many social media users did not need any further context and found this funny, showing their inner Pinoy humor in the comments section.
Some really tried hard at translating “bayad po.”
Others said she should have passed it to the other Pinay passenger next to her and let the girl hand it to the foreigner. Some suggested that she could just pretend to sleep until she arrived at her destination or use the Filipino technique “123” to avoid paying her fee.
To date, the video has reached over two million views on TikTok and has almost 150k likes.
What about you? What will you do if you’re in that situation?
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