Remembering Tatay Elmer Cordero, whose happy place was protests

• Elmer Cordero, affectionately known as 'Tatay Elmer,' was a dedicated jeepney driver and activist who spent his life advocating for the transportation sector and supporting his community.
• He was a loving husband to Elvie and a father figure to his niece Jamaica, whom he raised as his own, demonstrating his nurturing nature and commitment to family.
• Despite health challenges, Tatay Elmer remained actively involved in protests and rallies, becoming a symbol of resilience and solidarity within the Filipino community until his passing.

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Elmer Cordero was the epitome of love in its most radical form. 

Much of the late activist’s life had been spent behind the wheel of his jeepney — driving passengers around on his route of MCU Rotonda-Divisoria, or sometimes, Malanday-Divisioria. He would bring home between P400 to P500 on good days. 

When he wasn’t driving, he was out rallying on the streets with his fellow drivers at Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (PISTON). 

Known as “Tatay Elmer” or “Ka Elmer” to most, the 78-year-old had spent his last waking moments doing what he loved most: protesting for the transportation sector. 

PISTON president Mody Floranda shared that Tatay Elmer was at a rally on September 29 when he began to have difficulty breathing. Being the strong old man that he was, he even managed to walk himself to the terminal to catch a ride to a hospital in Caloocan City, where he would be confined for several days before eventually succumbing to the complications brought about by his heart attack. 

Floranda’s anecdote alone already says a lot about who Tatay Elmer was as a person — someone who was pro-people until the very end. 

But Tatay Elmer was many other things to the people around him. 

Affectionate husband and father figure

He met his wife, Elvie, when she worked as his secretary at the repair shop he was running in Fairview. Right off the bat, she liked that he was kind and easygoing, and this was something that would manifest throughout their marriage. 

As a husband, he became a master of the art of pagsusuyo, and Elvie — who admitted that she sometimes had a sharp tongue — was always willing to be swayed by Tatay Elmer. 

“Hindi naman maiiwasan sa mag-asawa ‘yung magtatalo. Nagtatalo-talo kami (As husband and wife, we couldn’t avoid the occasional argument),” she told Rappler as she sat on the first pew of the Resurrection Chapel at Claret Church, where his wake is being held. 

Still, they were always quick to make up in the end, and would never go long without patching things up. 

“Kahit kasalanan ko, siya unang sumusuyo. Mas marami akong kasalanan. Hindi ‘yan aalis nang hindi kami nagbabati,” the widow added with a slight chuckle. 

(Even when it was my fault, he would always be the first to appease me. I had more faults. He wouldn’t leave the house until we were okay.) 

The two never had kids of their own. But for the past nine years, they had been raising little Jamaica since she was a baby. While she is the child of Elvie’s nephew, Tatay Elmer was adamant about caring for Jamaica, who has taken to calling the old couple “mommy” and “daddy.” 

Now in the third grade, Jamaica had even served as Tatay Elmer’s occasional companion at rallies. 

“Naaalala ko po, nung pumunta kami sa Manila, pinasyal niya ako. Tapos, nagmartsa kami (I remember he took me sightseeing when we went to Manila. Then, we marched in a rally),” Jamaica recounted. 

Tatay Elmer had stood not just as a father to Jamaica, but also to the youths he would cross paths with at rallies. 

Elvie had joked that it was a good thing these students didn’t avoid him even if he was old, to which the longtime jeepney driver and activist replied, “Hindi ah, mababait ang mga estudyante. Buti nga marami akong naging anak (No, the students are all very kind. It’s a good thing I ended up having lots of children because of them).” 

Many of the students whose lives he had touched stayed at his wake all day as soon as it opened to the public. They had helped keep Jamaica entertained, and had even prepared a special performance later that night to pay tribute to Tatay Elmer. 

Always on the ground

Tatay Elmer was also never one to skimp on showing support to those around him, even if it meant putting his own health and safety at risk. 

He had been confined at the hospital when Floranda set out to file his certificate of candidacy for senator in 2025. Much to the PISTON president’s surprise, Tatay Elmer appeared right in front of him at Luneta, still wearing a hospital bracelet. 

“Sabi ko, ‘Bakit narito ka? ‘Di ba nakaconfine ka sa Jose Reyes?’ Sabi niya, ‘Hindi ako papayag na hindi kita sasamahan sa Comelec,’” Floranda recalled. 

(I said, “Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be confined at Jose Reyes?” He said, “I’m not going to allow myself to not accompany you to the Comelec.”) 

Tatay Elmer had apparently evaded the hospital security guard’s watchful eye to make his stealthy escape. It might seem uncharacteristic for a sickly man in his 70s, but not for Tatay Elmer. 

On the ground at rallies, fellow activists would always look forward to seeing him dance as he waved the PISTON flag around in the air. Protests were his happy place, and it was through his staunch defense of the transportation sector that he felt most alive. 

“Talagang makikita mo ‘yung saya niya ‘pag may mga rally. Hindi mo mararamdaman sa kanya ‘yung pagod (You could really see how happy he was at rallies. You could never feel that he was tired),” Floranda shared.

In 2020, he became a part of the PISTON 6 — a group of jeepney drivers who were jailed for staging a protest to call for government aid. He was 72 years old at the time of his arrest, and was the oldest in the group. 

It was then that he became a modern hero not just to his fellow jeepney drivers, but to the youth, and Filipinos at large. 

“Doon ko lang nakita si Ka Elmer na masigasig sa pakikipaglaban sa hanay ng transportasyon,” Dionisio “Diony” Bendoy, the vice president of NOBLUDA-PISTON, told Rappler, referring to Cordero’s brave act that led to his arrest. 

(It was only then that I saw Ka Elmer’s eagerness to fight for the transportation sector.) 

Severino Ramos, who was also a part of the PISTON 6, was among the first to attend Tatay Elmer’s wake. They had known each other long before they had gotten detained at the same time — with Ramos now unable to remember when and where it was that they had first met. 

“Kasama pa rin kita. Ikaw lang nauna. Hindi lang tatagal, baka sumunod din ako (I’m still with you. You just happened to go first. Before long, I might follow you),” Ramos quipped as he shared his final message for his longtime friend. 

Those who knew Tatay Elmer in different contexts can all attest that his life was 78 years of pure love and solidarity at the maximum level. His legacy as an activist and jeepney driver was already cemented far before his death, and will continue to hold space in the collective consciousness of the Filipino people. – Rappler.com