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Leody de Guzman | |
|---|---|
 De Guzman in a poster for President 2022 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Leodegario Quitain de Guzman[1] (1959-07-27)July 27, 1959 (age 66)[2] Naujan,Oriental Mindoro, Philippines |
| Nationality |  Philippines |
| Party | PLM (2018–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
|
| Spouse | Marieza Tolentino |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | PMI Colleges (BS) |
| Occupation | Labor leader, activist |
| Profession | Customs Broker |
Leodegario "Ka Leody"Quitain de Guzman (Tagalog pronunciation:[ˈljodɪdeɡusˈman]; born July 25, 1959) is a Filipinosocialist labor rights activist who ran for president in the2022 Philippine presidential elections, under thePartido Lakas ng Masa. He is currently the chairperson of theBukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, a socialist federation of militant trade unions. He unsuccessfully sought a seat in the2019 senatorial elections.[4][5][6][7]
De Guzman was born on July 25, 1959, inNaujan,Oriental Mindoro, to Lorenzo Sason de Guzman and Dolores Atilano Quitain. He finished his Bachelor of Science in Customs Administration degree at thePhilippine Maritime Institute,[8][9] and worked at a leather gloves factory at Aris Philippines Inc. to support his family.
De Guzman became involved in activism in the aftermath of the assassination of popular anti-Marcos figureBenigno 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 forAlyansa 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 federationKilusang 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, theBukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP)[8] 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 thepresidency of Joseph Estrada. During theimpeachment trial of Estrada and subsequentEDSA 2, BMP andSanlakas called for all elected officials to resign to pave the way for the overhaul of the country's political system.[10] The federation was also active against measures of later governments such as the2006 state of emergency under the Arroyo administration and thewar 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).
In the2016 Philippine House of Representatives party-list election, De Guzman participated in the legislative race as the first nominee ofSanlakas partylist.[11] Sanlakas did not win any seats.
In the2019 Senate election, De Guzman ran as senator underPartido 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 ofBayan Muna, Sonny Matula of theWorkers’ Party, independent Allan Montaño, and Ernesto Arellano ofKatipunan of Kamalayang Kayumanggi. He was also endorsed by theMakabayan bloc for the senatorial elections.[12][13]
De Guzman placed 38th of 62 candidates with 893,506 (2.17%) of the vote, and did not win a seat.
On September 28, 2021, De Guzman accepted the nomination of thePartido 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.[14][15]
Luke Espiritu, Roy Cabonegro, and David D'Angelo filed their candidacies under the party, while De Guzman also identifiedTeddy Baguilat,Chel Diokno, Bong Labog, Sonny Matula,Leila de Lima,Neri Colmenares,Samira Gutoc andRisa Hontiveros as his Senate bets in an endorsement that rejected "transactional politics".[16]
In the2025 Senate Election, De Guzman, along withLuke Espiritu, would file their candidates underPartido Lakas ng Masa on October 4, 2024,[17] De Guzman would later lose the election, placing 34th and managing to gain 4,136,899 votes.[18]
In the 2019 elections, De Guzman positioned himself as a member of the labor opposition within the Labor Win coalition. He proposed to endendo contractualization, abolish the Mining Act of 1995, and suspend the tax system under theTRAIN law. He also supportedrenewable energy and a review of existingderegulation laws. On social issues, De Guzman opposed the return of the death penalty, pushed for stipends for poor students and the implementation of aUniversal Basic Income, and supported the legalization of divorce.[8][9][19]
De Guzman also supported the legalization ofmedical marijuana, the passage of theBangsamoro Basic Law,divorce bill,abortion, andsame-sex marriage in thePhilippines. He was against passing constitutional change under the Duterte administration towardsfederalism, the lowering of criminal age of liability, the extension ofMartial law in Mindanao, and the phenomenon ofred-tagging against activists and unionists. He also called for an end topolitical dynasties in the country.
In 2021, De Guzman reiterated his previous political positions, and included other proposals such as the abolition of theNTF-ELCAC and the repeal of theAnti-Terrorism Law of 2020, among other measures that signaled a "violent regime" as part of a 25-point progressive agenda.[20][21]
He believes that solid positions on the following issues are important if "unification talks" with fellow presidential candidate Vice PresidentLeni Robredo were to be possible:[22][23]
Leody is married to Marieza Tolentino with three children: Prolan, Lea, and Dexter. He currently resides inCainta, Rizal.[8]
| Year | Office | Party | Votes received | Result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | % | P. | Swing | |||||
| 2019 | Senator of the Philippines | PLM | 893,506 | 1.89% | 38th | N/a | Lost | |
| 2025 | 4,136,899 | 7.21% | 34th | +5.32 | Lost | |||
| 2022 | President of the Philippines | 93,027 | 0.17% | 8th | N/a | Lost | ||
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