Before Kuya Ely Tours became a growing travel and transport company, there was a driver who simply wanted to give his family a better life. What started behind the steering wheel became a story of survival, faith, entrepreneurship, and giving back.

2003 · Behind the wheel

Long before he became the founder of Kuya Ely Tours and Transport Services, Ely Boy Sumaya already knew what it meant to serve travelers. From 2003 to 2006, he worked as a rent-a-car driver in Bohol, bringing tourists around the island. Through those years he learned how to guide visitors, understand what they needed, and make every journey more enjoyable.

When ₱300 had to last a week

Ely later moved to Cebu and worked as a company driver with two children and a growing family to support. His weekly income was around ₱2,000. After sending most of it home, there were weeks when only around ₱300 remained for his own food, transportation, and daily expenses. He later became a taxi driver, sometimes working almost 24 hours, surviving on short naps before going back behind the wheel.

Then everything fell apart

One of the hardest chapters came while he was driving a taxi. Payments he had been making were entrusted to a collector, then records for 52 rental days could no longer be accounted for. The dispute cost him his job. There were days with no permanent place to stay. At his lowest point, he sometimes stayed near a bridge and depended on fellow drivers who would spare a few pesos.

One banana cue could be enough to keep me going for the day.

One opportunity was all he needed

Another rent-a-car company gave him a chance to drive again. Then Catalina Taxi Company hired him — a turning point. Tourism around Mactan was growing. Instead of waiting for passengers, Ely started talking to tourists and offering trips to Cebu's popular destinations. Because of his years in Bohol, he was already more than a driver. He knew how to become a driver-tour guide.

He learned how to create opportunity

Ely began writing his own itineraries, offering packages, and building relationships with guests. Tourists remembered him. Bookings followed. Little by little, the driver who once struggled to keep a few hundred pesos for himself began building something of his own.

2016 · The first vehicle

One milestone he remembers most was finally having electricity installed at his family home in Siquijor. In 2016, he acquired his first vehicle for the business and secured his own transport franchise. The driver who once depended on somebody else's vehicle was beginning to build his own fleet — the foundation of Kuya Ely Tours and Transport Services, powered by ES Happy Tours.

Today

What began with rented vehicles, handwritten tour offers, and a driver's knowledge of the road has grown into a recognized Cebu tour operator with around 30 team members. Ely never forgot where he came from. Feeding programs, relief packing, medical aid, and outreach to remote communities remain part of the company's purpose: success means more when it is shared.