Eduardo Santos Dela Cruz
Lovingly known as “Mang Eddie”
17 March 1948 — 27 December 2019 · aged 71
Jeepney driver, hands-on tatay and the heart of a Quezon City street
Quezon City, Philippines Born in Lubao, Pampanga Resting at Loyola Memorial Park, Marikina CityAbout Eduardo
Every morning for forty-four years, Eduardo Dela Cruz was the first jeepney out of the Project 6 terminal, his dashboard crowded with a plastic Santo Niño, a laminated photograph of his wife and a hand-lettered sign that read 'Mag-ingat po sa biyahe,' travel safely. Passengers set their watches by him.
Born in Lubao, Pampanga, he came to Manila at twenty to drive for an uncle, learning the streets between Cubao and Quiapo until he could navigate them in the dark and in flood. In 1976 he married Remedios Alcantara, a young nurse from his hometown. When she took a contract in Riyadh in 1981, the two agreed that someone had to stay, and Eddie, with three small children and a jeepney, became the parent at home. He braided Mia's hair, signed report cards, packed baon at dawn and drove the children to school on his route, dropping them at the gate with a loud honk that embarrassed them for years. He never missed a PTA meeting, and was often the only father in the room.
Passengers knew him as Mang Eddie, the driver who waited for the old woman with the cane, who let students ride free at the end of the month and who sang along to the AM radio. On Sundays he washed the jeepney until its chrome blazed, then cooked pancit palabok for the whole street. He loved the Ginebra basketball team and fell asleep to the commentary every night. He died on 27 December 2019, aged seventy-one, the day after the family's Christmas lunch, laughing at one of his own jokes. He is survived by Remedios, his wife of forty-three years, their children Joy, Carlo and Mia, and seven grandchildren who still call every jeepney 'Lolo's.'
“Basta may pasahero, may biyahe. As long as there is a passenger, there is a journey.”
- Faith
- Catholic
- Place of birth
- Lubao, Pampanga
- Resting place
- Loyola Memorial Park, Marikina City
- Passed away
- 27 December 2019, Quezon City
Funeral Mass & Necrological Service
Friday, 3 January 2020 at 11:00 UTC
Add to calendarLife journey
Jeepney Driver
Cubao–Quiapo Jeepney Drivers' Association1968 – 2012 · Quezon City
Forty-four years on the same route, never once cutting off a fellow driver.
Married Remedios Alcantara
1976 · Lubao, Pampanga
A marriage of forty-three years.
Raised three children at home
1981 – 1999 · Quezon City
Became the full-time parent while Remedios worked in Riyadh and Dubai.
PTA volunteer
Project 6 Elementary School1985 – 2000 · Quezon City
Repainted classrooms every year for the school's clean-up week.
Most Courteous Driver
Quezon City Jeepney Operators' Cooperative1997 · Quezon City
Voted by passengers for patience and punctuality.
Tap an organisation to find others who studied or worked there.
Family & connections
Also remembered on Evermore
Eduardo is survived by
- Remedios Dela Cruz· Spouse
- Joy Dela Cruz-Reyes· Daughter
- Carlo Dela Cruz· Son
- Mia Dela Cruz-Santos· Daughter
- 7 grandchildren· Grandchildren
Tributes & memories
6 people have shared a memory of Eduardo.
Knew Eduardo? Share a memory with the family and everyone who loved them.
Sign in to write a tribute- NC
Cousin in Toronto
At the Lubao fiesta in 1962 he won the egg-and-spoon race and then gave his prize away. At Remy's wedding he cried before the vows. Thank you, kuya, for making our whole family so soft-hearted. We carry that gift across every ocean.
- NV
Principal, Project 6 Elementary School
He was the only father who volunteered for every Brigada Eskwela, the school's annual clean-up week. He repainted our classrooms for free and brought merienda for forty teachers. Our school is a little brighter today because of Mang Eddie and a few litres of yellow paint.
- JL
Former student passenger, now an engineer
In high school I was always short of fare at month's end. Mang Eddie never asked; he just pointed at the seat beside him. When I finally became an engineer I went to the terminal to pay him back. He refused. 'Pay it forward,' he said. I try.
- MC
Youngest daughter
Tatay braided my hair with the same hands that gripped the steering wheel. He was clumsy, I was embarrassed, and he was proud. He told me, 'Your Nanay is working so that we can eat; I am working so that you won't be lonely.' He was right on both counts.
- MS
Neighbour in Project 6
Every New Year's Eve he parked the jeepney at the end of our street and played the radio loud enough for everyone to dance. By dawn he was back at the terminal. He once told me a man's work is a kind of love letter. His was written on the road.
- RP
Fellow driver on the Cubao–Quiapo route
Forty years on the same road and he never once cut me off. He let me draft behind him in the rain and shared his baon at the terminal. When my wife was sick he drove my route for three weeks and refused my fare. Mang Eddie had a heart wider than Aurora Boulevard.
