Longtime jeepney driver, activist Elmer Cordero dies at 78

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Longtime jeepney driver and transport activist Elmer Cordero, popularly known as “Tatay Elmer" has died at 78, according to the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON).

Cordero suffered a heart attack while participating in a transport strike in Monumento, Caloocan City, on Sept. 29. He was rushed to the Caloocan City Medical Center, where he was confined in critical condition.

He had worked as a jeepney driver for about five decades and remained active in PISTON campaigns for drivers’ rights, including protests against rising fuel prices and the government’s public utility vehicle modernization program.

Cordero was also among the so-called “PISTON 6” who were arrested during a protest in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The charges against the six drivers were eventually dismissed, with a Caloocan court acquitting them in 2024.

In a 2020 interview, Cordero said he continued joining protests despite his age because of concerns over the livelihood of jeepney drivers.

"Masipag, masayahin, at mapagkalinga sa kapuwa, mahal na mahal si Tatay Elmer ng mga kapuwa tsuper, ng mga kabataan, at ng iba't ibang hanay ng mamamayan," PISTON said.

(Hardworking, cheerful, and caring toward others, Tatay Elmer was deeply loved by his fellow drivers, young people, and people from all walks of life.)

PISTON called on its members to display black ribbons or cloth on their jeepneys and in their communities in honor of Tatay Elmer. —LDF, GMA News