Leody de Guzman
Leody de Guzman
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Leody de Guzman

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Leody de Guzman

Leodegario "Ka Leody" Quitain de Guzman (Tagalog pronunciation: [ˈljodɪ de ɡusˈman]; born July 25, 1959) 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.

De Guzman was born on July 25, 1959, in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, to Lorenzo Sason de Guzman and Dolores Atilano Quitain. He finished his Bachelor of Science in Customs Administration degree at the Philippine Maritime Institute, 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 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) 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. 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).

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

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