Tatay Elmer Cordero expressed his sincere gratitude to Kapamilya actress Angel Locsin for her kindness and generosity while he was detained.
Through a short clip posted by a certain Joshua Libarnes on Twitter, the 72-year-old jeepney driver said, “Maraming salamat Angel Locsin sa lahat ng itinutulong mo sa aming suporta sa loob ng kulungan pati ‘yung gamot tsaka alcohol. Lahat kumpleto, lahat ng mga tulong mo, maraming maraming salamat.”
Tatay Elmer, along with other 5 jeepney drivers who were members of the transport group PISTON—Severino Ramos, 59; Wilson Ramilia, 43; Ramon Paloma, 48; Ruben Baylon, 59; and Arsenio Ymas Jr, 56—were apprehended after holding a protest against the government’s ban on jeepney operations under the general community quarantine at the Monumento area in Caloocan City on Tuesday, June 2.
The rally was their means of calling for the resumption of their operations in Metro Manila, as they no longer have money to buy food.
However, their action resulted in their arrest for allegedly violating the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) protocols.
Meanwhile, Angel Locsin slammed the arrest of the PISTON 6 and begged for consideration from the government.
Moreover, the 35-year-old actress took the initiative to help the imprisoned jeepney drivers, especially Tatay Elmer by providing health kit essentials like face masks, alcohol, and vitamins through Bea Alonzo’s non-profit organization I AM HOPE.
After spending a week in jail, Tatay Elmer was finally released after he posted a P10,000 bond.
The news of Tatay Elmer’s freedom delighted many netizens and celebrities who decried the arrest of the jeepney drivers who only wanted to resume work to provide for their families.
https://twitter.com/joshualibarnes/status/1270346893214642176
Locsin’s compassion and passion to help others have been proven over the years. No matter what circumstance, she’s there ready to help. In fact, amid this crisis brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the now-engaged actress is one of the active philanthropists who looks for ways and means to help and give hope to those who are in dire need of help.
Her UniTENTweStandPH campaign to address the overcrowding in hospitals nationwide has greatly helped the government especially those hospitals which became its beneficiaries. Locsin’s team was able to raise P11.35 million in just 19 days. With the money collected, her team was able to reach out to 135 hospitals, setting up 246 tents where 225 were isolation tents and 21 sanitation tents come with misting machines).
As she officially ended her successful fundraiser last April, the ‘The General’s Daughter’ lead star opened another donation drive to support COVID-19 mass testing efforts in the country.
Called “Shop and Share,” this initiative was once organized by Locsin many years ago to help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy. Reviving the initiative, this time, it aims to purchase testing kits and allow testing opportunities for the poorer sectors in the country.
This fundraising effort encourages her fellow celebrities to donate items that will be auctioned to raise funds that will be used to buy testing kits.
