72-year-old Elder Cordero of ‘PISTON 6’ was finally able to take a swab test for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), after being exposed to it when he was detained.
Angel Locsin, dubbed by some as the real-life Darna, continues to be an angel to others through her co-founded auction Shop & Share that aims to “help our fellow Filipinos who need to be tested during this COVID-19 pandemic.”
In an Instagram post, she thanked everyone who supported the auction.
“Natulungan nyo po sila Tatay na kasama sa grupo ng jeepney drivers at operators na na-expose sa COVID-19 upang makapagpa-test sa Red Cross noong Miyerkules (You were able to help Tatay and his fellow jeepney drivers and operations who got exposed to COVID-19, to be tested in Red Cross last Wednesday),” Angel confirmed.
“Marami pa po sa ating mga kababayan na tulad nila ang inyong matutulungan. Taos puso po ang aming pasasalamat (A lot of our countrymen like them will still be helped. Have our utmost gratitude),” she continued on her personal post.
Tatay Elmer became viral on social media after he was arrested, along with five other jeepney drivers and operators who called for the government for relief aids, as well as, to appeal the ban on jeepney operations which is their source of livelihood. Two members of PISTON 6 tested positive for COVID-19.
Angel, a vocal critic and a philanthropist, pleaded to the authorities through an Instagram story.
“If you cannot help them, let them go home. They just want food for their families. Maraming gutom. Sabihin na nating may natanggap, pero hindi natin alam kung enough na ba yun para sa pamilya nila para mapilitan silang lumabas. Konting puso and consideration (A lot are hungry. Let’s say that they received help, but we do not know if that is enough for them and their families, which could’ve urged them to go out. Please have some heart and consideration),” she wrote.
Other celebrities also called for the release of the six.
Shop & Share by Angel and fellow actress Anne Curtis Smith-Eusaff, was formed to raise funds that will cover the expense for testing kits “to the underprivileged who are affected by this global crisis.”
“We pursue this mission humbly, with compassion and kindness in hopes of aiding the government in increasing testing for COVID-19 in our own little way,” it said on one of its Instagram posts.