Piston’s Tatay Elmer shows support for Floranda, Makabayan senatorial bets

‘Tatay Elmer’ from the transport group Piston on Friday showed his support for senatorial aspirant and Piston chairperson Mody Floranda and the rest of the Makabayan senatorial bets. (Photo from Dianne Sampang/INQUIRER.net)

MANILA, Philippines — With his left fist raised and a placard that said ‘MODY FLORANDA MAKABAYAN 2025’, Elmer Cordero from the transport group Piston (Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide) said on Friday that he wants Floranda to secure a Senate seat so there will be a change in the transport sector.

Cordero, known as Tatay Elmer, gained popularity after being dubbed one of the “Piston 6” arrested during a peaceful protest in July 2020 over losing their jobs as jeepney drivers at the height of the pandemic.

Tatay Elmer said he is also supporting the rest of the Makabayan senatorial bets as they filed their certificate of candidacy (COC) on Friday. Floranda, who is included in the line-up, is Piston’s chairperson.

READ: Charges vs ‘Piston 6’ drivers arrested during peaceful protest junked

“Kailangan ipanalo sa Senado kasama na rin ‘yung ibang kasama namin sa Makabayan tulad ng mga manggagawa at sa pinaka the best sa amin si Mody Floranda dahil siya ang aming chairman ng transport sa Piston,” Cordero told INQUIRER.net in the sidelines of the fourth day of filing of COC.

(We need to win in the Senate, along with our fellow members from Makabayan, including the workers and our best candidate, Mody Floranda, our chairman of transport in Piston.)

“Gusto naming maipanalo sa Senado, may pagbabago sa transport,” Cordero added.

(We want Floranda to win in the Senate so there will be a change in the transport sector.)

When asked why it was important for the Makabayan slate to win the elections, Cordero answered that the transport sector has been neglected.

“Kailangan namin kasi sa lahat ng manggagawa, wala nang nag-aasikaso sa amin… tulad ng mga manggagawa… kami naman sa transport, pinapabayaan, halos hindi na nga makarehistro yung iba,” he said.

(It is important because no one looks after us… like the workers… the transport sector is neglected and many drivers could not register.)

READ: Piston urges SC to halt public transport modernization program

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. previously rejected the Senate’s proposal to suspend the public transport modernization program, saying that more than 80 percent of jeepney operators had already been consolidated.

Under the consolidation, public transport drivers and operators must form operatives to avail of the program’s benefits.