Manila - Bernardo de la Cruz casts his eyes around the nearly silent workshop where he used to toil overtime hand-painting custom decor on jeepneys, the singularly Philippine minibuses facing the scrapheap.

Firebrand Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte threatened Tuesday to scrap by next year the "jeepneys" that have become a national symbol, as he became embroiled in a showdown with the mass transport industry.