‘Tatay Elmer’ Cordero, jeepney driver and transport activist, dies at 78

ASM, Philippine Canadian Inquirer
October 08, 2026

Photo courtesy: Tracy Althea Ramos | Facebook

Elmer Cordero, the jeepney driver known as “Tatay Elmer” who became a symbol of transport workers’ struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic, died on Wednesday, October 7. He was 78.

His death was announced that evening in a post on his Facebook page, which said he had passed away peacefully. The post described him as a man who “touched so many lives with his kindness and love.”

Cordero had been in the Caloocan City Medical Center for more than a week. The transport group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) said he had a heart attack and lost consciousness on September  29, the first day of its two-day nationwide transport strike.

The strike, held September 29 and 30, protested rising fuel prices. PISTON called on the government to remove the excise tax and value-added tax on fuel.

PISTON remembered Cordero as hardworking, cheerful and caring, and said he was deeply loved by his fellow drivers, by young people and by Filipinos from many sectors. The group asked its members to display black ribbons or cloth on their jeepneys and in their communities in his honour.

Cordero first drew national attention in 2020. On June 2 that year, he was one of six PISTON drivers arrested by police at the EDSA Monumento Circle in Caloocan City during a protest over drivers who had lost their income under the pandemic lockdown. Police accused the group of violating physical distancing rules and resisting authorities.

He was 72 at the time. A photograph of the elderly driver in detention spread widely and came to represent the hardship faced by jeepney drivers who were unable to work during the lockdown. The drivers maintained that they had done nothing wrong.

Cordero and fellow driver Wilson Ramilla were the last two of the six to remain in detention. The charges against the group, who became known as the “PISTON 6,” were later dropped.

He went on to take part in protests for years afterward. In a 2020 interview, he said he kept joining rallies despite his age because he was concerned about the livelihood of jeepney drivers. PISTON said he once left the hospital without permission to join a protest camp against the jeepney phaseout.

Cordero also campaigned for former Vice President Leni Robredo during her 2022 presidential run.

His death comes as jeepney drivers continue to press the government for relief from high fuel costs.