BBC's "Toughest Place to Be" - A must watch for Every Filipino

This weekend, I was able to spare some time browsing the net and came upon some thought provoking videos about a program in the British Channel BBC titled The Toughest Place to be. I watched all six videos with almost 10 minutes each and was appalled with Philippine's condition. The second worker was sent to Manila, Philippines to perform his work as a bus driver.

His name was Josh West from London. After watching, I researched for the videos online and found out that BBC is only showing the programme in London. I wish these videos could also be shown in the Philippines to make all Filipinos realize how revolting it is to live in the conditions of being a very poor Filipino. I was deeply heartbroken watching it and wish that by sharing this videos would give our corrupt government a jolt and make them see how oppressed the poor are. I myself came from a poor family but got educated and is now living more decent than most Pinoys living in slums. After watching, I reflected much on my life and made me think that with all the challenges I face right now, I am still lucky than most people. Watch the videos below and make sure to finish all six and let me know what you think and feel about being a Filipino.

BBC's Toughest Place to be - A Bus Driver

Three British workers. Experienced. Qualified. And looking for a challenge. They are on a quest to find out what it would be like to do their job under some of the toughest conditions on the planet. 

These British workers travel to countries thousands of miles away, to live with local people, and do their own jobs, under some of the toughest conditions on earth. 

Angie is a paramedic going to Guatemala, Josh a bus driver going to the Philippines and Suzanne is a midwife going to Liberia.

In the second program in the series where British workers accept the challenge to do their jobs in some of the toughest conditions in the world, London bus driver Josh West heads to Manila, the capital of the Philippines and the most densely populated city on Earth.  Josh will be driving a Jeepney, a colourfully decorated, adapted jeep which has no power steering, dodgy lights and an uncomfortable seat.

His host is Rogelio Castro and together they brave the chaos of the streets. It's a hair-raising and often hilarious ride, but Josh also learns about the incredible over-crowding and devastating poverty of Manila. He forms a strong bond with Rogelio and is moved by the daily struggle of an ordinary Filipino working to feed his family.

It's an emotional roller coaster and Josh returns a changed man, aware that all the separates his life from Rogelio's is the country he happened to be born in.


In London, the bus Josh drives costs 350,000 British pounds or about PhP24,600,000.00
You will be touched when you see Josh's family prays for him, as he will certainly need it in this crazy place called Manila. For the next 10 days he will be living at St. Andrew's Field (San Andres Bukid) where he'll stay with Filipino bus driver Rogelio Castro and his family. Asked what he knows of the Philippines, "I know virtually nothing but I can tell you that I do know that Imelda Marcos was President or something like that and she owns like 200 pairs of shoes but off of that... I knew not very much of the Philippines." We are also given a summary of living conditions in Manila as one of the world's megacity. It was also funny to see a dog "surfing" on top of a truck.
Part 1 -


Part 2 starts out blurred for a few seconds only. Here you'll learn a little bit about the origins of the jeepney (they were left over from the war). You will see that Josh shows Rogelio pictures of his expensivo bus.
Part 2 -


Here's where you will think hard about the RH bill, as Josh enters a shanty "as big as a cupboard" where Elsie and her 13 children live. He also gets to visit the Fabella Hospital where Elsie-mother since the age of 14, gets educated on family planning.
Part 3 -


Josh finally gets to drive the jeepney, with the guidance of an A-1 driving instructor who doubts his driving skills. "I thought was I gonna lose my life. It was that bad," Josh says of his first day on the road.
The next day Rogelio takes Josh to Jollibee. This part is hard to watch when Rogelio talks about his poverty.
Part 4 -


Rogelio takes Josh to the province to visit his mom, and Josh vows to come back and visit him here.
This is where Josh breaks down as he shares his thoughts on Rogelio's life. Josh visits Tondo where he witnesses people eating "pagpag" or food recycled from the garbage. Josh calls it "the worst experience I've ever seen in my life."
Part 5 -


Josh finally gets to drive for real, just like a local in his flipflops. So cute how he's got his "notes" between his fingers. This is part is painful to watch. The episode ends back in the UK where Josh thinks of raising funds to help support the education of Rogelio's children.
Part 6 -

Click here to view the Contrasting Lives of the 2 Drivers in this BBC documentary. 

This feature opened people's eyes to unbelievable situations which many Filipinos are subjected to. This should be a wake-up call to our government to be more sensitive to to the needs and sufferings of many Pinoys. It breaks my heart to see that billions of pesos on Philippine taxes are swallowed in corruption which could have been used to build better infrastructures, upgrade social services, provide competent medical care, provide better education and open up great livelihood opportunities. I wish I could do something.....

Share this and wake up every Filipino here and abroad.

To watch the other BBC features... Below are the links:
Toughest Place to Be a ..... Paramedic
Toughest Place to Be a ..... Midwife

Source: Chuvaness.com and www.BBC.CO.UK/ 
Thanks to Youtube user Mitsukono11 for uploading all 6 segmented videos on Josh West as Jeepney Driver.