Leody de Guzman
De Guzman filing his certificate of candidacy for president on October 6, 2021.
Personal details
Born
Leodegario Quitain de Guzman

(1959-07-27) July 27, 1959
Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines
Political partyPartido Lakas ng Masa (2018–present)
Other political
affiliations		Sanlakas (until 2018)
SpouseMarieza Tolentino
Children3
Alma materPMI Colleges (BS)
OccupationLabor leader, activist
ProfessionCustoms Broker
Websitekaleody.org

Leodegario "Ka Leody" Quitain de Guzman (Tagalog pronunciation: [ˈljodɪ deˈɡusman]; born July 25, 1959)[1][2] is a Filipino socialist labor rights activist who ran for president in the 2022 Philippine presidential elections, under the Partido Lakas ng Masa. He is currently the chairperson of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, a socialist federation of militant trade unions. He unsuccessfully sought a seat in the 2019 senatorial elections.[3][4][5][6]

Early life and career

De Guzman was born on July 25, 1959, in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, to Lorenzo de Guzman and Dolores Quitain. He finished his Bachelor of Science in Customs Administration degree at the Philippine Maritime Institute,[7][8] and worked at a leather gloves factory at Aris Philippines Inc. to support his family.

Activism

De Guzman became involved in activism in the aftermath of the assassination of popular anti-Marcos figure Benigno Aquino Jr. Galvanized by the wave of pro-democratic, anti-Marcos opposition protests that ensued, he joined the "Tarlac to Tarmac" march as well as other protests. He led the Aris Philippines branch of the budding Justice for Aquino, Justice for All (JAJA) movement.

De Guzman also became involved in organizing the workers of the factory against the dominant union and would become an organizer for Alyansa ng mga Manggagawa sa Pasig (ALMAPAS), a major labor coalition, from 1984 to 1990.

De Guzman was elected to the regional executive council of the militant labor federation Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) in 1991. However, because of increasing differences between KMU NCR and KMU national leadership, De Guzman joined other workers in forming an alternative labor federation, the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP)[7] alongside labor leaders such as Romy Castillo, Filemon 'Ka Popoy' Lagman, and Victor Briz. He was elected deputy secretary general of BMP at its formation in 1993, serving until 1996.

In 1996, he was elected as general secretary, serving until 2005 when he became president of BMP until 2018. Since 2018, De Guzman has been chair of BMP. During this time, the BMP was active in organizing during discontent against the presidency of Joseph Estrada. During the impeachment trial of Estrada and subsequent EDSA 2, BMP and Sanlakas called for all elected officials to resign to pave the way for the overhaul of the country's political system.[9] The federation was also active against measures of later governments such as the 2006 state of emergency under the Arroyo administration and the war on drugs of the Duterte administration.

De Guzman is also currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the human rights non-governmental organization PhilRights and Bulig Visayas, another NGO for aiding calamity victims. He is also the current country representative of the International Council of the International Center for Labor Solidarity (ICLS) and vice president of the Asia Regional Organization of Bank, Insurance and Finance Union (AROBIFU).

Political career

2016 Congressional bid

In the 2016 Philippine House of Representatives party-list election, De Guzman participated in the legislative race as the first nominee of Sanlakas partylist.[10] Sanlakas did not win any seats.

2019 Senate bid

In the 2019 Senate election, De Guzman ran as senator under Partido Lakas ng Masa on a platform of ending contractualization as well as the Mining Act of 1995. De Guzman formed the pro-worker Labor Win coalition for the elections with Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna, Sonny Matula of the Workers’ Party, independent Allan Montaño, and Ernesto Arellano of Katipunan of Kamalayang Kayumanggi. He was also endorsed by the Makabayan bloc for the senatorial elections.[11][12]

De Guzman placed 38th of 62 candidates with 893,506 (2.17%) of the vote, and did not win a seat.

2022 presidential campaign

On September 28, 2021, De Guzman accepted the nomination of the Partido Lakas ng Masa and various progressive organizations to run for president. Later on October 6, De Guzman filed his certificate of candidacy for president, running on a platform of systemic change including labor issues such as raising minimum wage and abolishing contractualization.[13][14]

Luke Espiritu, Roy Cabonegro, and David D’Angelo filed their candidacies under the party, while De Guzman also identified Teddy Baguilat, Chel Diokno, Bong Labog, Sonny Matula, and Leila de Lima as his Senate bets in an endorsement that rejected "transactional politics".[15]

Political positions

In the 2019 elections, De Guzman positioned himself as a member of the labor opposition within the Labor Win coalition. He proposed to end endo contractualization, abolish the Mining Act of 1995, and suspend the tax system under the TRAIN law. He also supported renewable energy and a review of existing deregulation laws. On social issues, De Guzman opposed the return of the death penalty, pushed for stipends for poor students and the implementation of a Universal Basic Income, and supported the legalization of divorce.[7][8][16]

De Guzman also supported the legalization of medical marijuana, the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, divorce bill, abortion, and same-sex marriage in the Philippines. He was against passing constitutional change under the Duterte administration towards federalism, the lowering of criminal age of liability, the extension of Martial law in Mindanao, and the phenomenon of red-tagging against activists and unionists. He also called for an end to political dynasties in the country.

In 2021, De Guzman reiterated his previous political positions, and included other proposals such as the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC and the repeal of the Anti-Terrorism Law of 2020, among other measures that signaled a "violent regime" as part of a 25-point progressive agenda.[17][18]

He believes that solid positions on the following issues are important if "unification talks" with fellow presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo were to be possible:[19][20]

  • amending the rice tariffication law,
  • reviewing the military agreements with the U.S. government,
  • increasing prices of basic goods,
  • automatic debt appropriation, and
  • prioritization of labor affairs, including ending contractualization and increasing wages of workers.

Personal life

Leody is married to Marieza Tolentino with three children: Prolan, Lea, and Dexter. He currently resides in Cainta, Rizal.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Candidate's Profile: Leodigario Quitain De Guzman". GMA News. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  2. ↑ "2. DE GUZMAN, LEODY: PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE". Vote Pilipinas. Archived from the original on March 13, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Labor leader Leody de Guzman formalizes candidacy for president". Philippine Daily Inquirer. October 6, 2021. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Labor leader Ka Leody to run for president in 2022". BusinessWorld. September 28, 2021. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Ka Leody De Guzman accepts nomination for president in 2022 from labor groups". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Labor rights advocate Leody de Guzman files COC for Halalan 2022 presidential bid". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Leody de Guzman biography, education, advocacy, background". Kami. March 27, 2020. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  8. 1 2 "De Guzman, Leodigario "Ka Leody" (PARTIDO LAKAS NG MASA)". UP sa Halalan 2022. February 21, 2019. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Let the working class finance its own independent movement". www.oocities.org. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Sanlakas says selective justice targets LP foes". Philippine Daily Inquirer. March 13, 2016. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021 – via PressReader.
  11. ↑ "Labor Senate bets: We have 'real credentials' to push for pro-poor policies". Rappler. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  12. ↑ "PROFILE: Who is Ka Leody de Guzman?". ph.rappler.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  13. ↑ News, Adrian Ayalin, ABS-CBN (September 28, 2021). "Ka Leody De Guzman accepts nomination for president in 2022". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved October 18, 2021. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ "Labor leader Leody de Guzman files candidacy for president". Rappler. October 6, 2021. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  15. ↑ News, RICHA NORIEGA, GMA. "Labor leader Leody De Guzman bares 9 senatorial bets for Eleksyon 2022". GMA News Online. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ "Positions on conservative issues set opposition bets apart". Rappler. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Ka Leody to scrap NTF-ELCAC, seek repeal of anti-terrorism law if elected". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  18. ↑ "If elected, Ka Leody wants NTF-ELCAC scrapped, anti-terrorism law repealed". Philstar.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Ka Leody says he could have dropped presidential run had he aligned with Robredo during unity talks". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Leody De Guzman ready to support VP Leni's presidential bid if..." CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
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