Leodegario “Ka Leody” Quitain de Guzman (Tagalog pronunciation: [ˈljodɪ deˈɡusman]; born July 25, 1959) is a Filipino unionist and labor rights activist. He was the former President and currently the Chairperson of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, a socialist federation of militant trade unions. He was an aspirant in the 2019 senatorial elections, and is a candidate for the 2022 Philippine presidential elections under the Partido Lakas ng Masa.
Early life
De Guzman was born on July 25, 1959 in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. He finished his Bachelor of Science in Customs Administration degree at the Philippine Maritime Institute, and entered work at the leather gloves factory of 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 followed, he joined the “Tarlac to Tarmac” march as well as other protests. He led the Aris Philippines branch of the nascent Justice for Aquino, Justice for All (JAJA) movement.
This was at the height of the protests against the Aquino assassination which spawned an alphabet soup of acronyms which was proof of the divided opposition even then. The main body of leftists under the CPP/NPA/NDF didn’t participate in the protests under the instruction of Jose Maria Sison who was in detention.
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.
This was at the height of the of the increased union activities undertaken by the KMU after Cory assumed the Presidency under the leadership of its President, Rolando Olalia. Olalia was kidnapped and killed by rightist elements which created a leadership vacuum. Crispin Beltran took over as President after Olalia’s death. Popoy Lagman, brother of Edcel, had other plans and put up his own group. Lagman would be assassinated later outside the UP Bahay ng Alumni after the Philippine Airlines strike. This was supposed to be part of Sison’s “house cleaning” of his ranks as Lagman and his group bolted the CPP and formed their own organization. This was the beginning of the weakening of the CPP/NPA/NDF which is why at his advanced age, Sison still hasn’t appointed a successor.
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 chairman 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.
The leftist-militant groups provided the warm bodies which constituted the protesters at EDSA 2 which led to the ouster of Erap after the House prosecutors walked out of the impeachment trial at the Senate presided by then Chief Justice Hilario Davide. Davide didn’t bother with the rule of law by summoning the House prosecutors back or asking the Speaker to constitute a new team of House prosecutors. Instead, Davide fed Erap to the political wolves and swore in Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as President at the Edsa Shrine. He would later concoct the doctrine of “constructive resignation” in order to legalize GMA’s assumption to the Presidency even if Estrada had not formally resigned his office.
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 House 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. 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.
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.
Luke Espiritu, Roy Cabonegro, and David D’Angelo filed their candidacies under the party, while De Guzman also identified Chel Diokno, Risa Hontiveros, Neri Colmenares, Bong Labog, Sonny Matula, and Leila de Lima as his Senate bets in an endorsement that rejected “transactional politics”.
Political positions
In the 2019 elections, De Guzman positioned himself as a member of the labor opposition within the Labor Win coalition. He ran against endo contractualization, the abolition of the Mining Act of 1995, and the suspension of 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.
De Guzman also supported the legalization of medical marijuana, the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, 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.
He also stated that he would “opt not to run” if the campaign of Vice President and presidential aspirant Leni Robredo would pursue a platform that included amending the rice tariffication law, reviewing military agreements with the U.S. government, and prioritization of labor affairs, including contractualization.
Personal life
Leody is married to Marieza Tolentino with three children: Prolan, Lea, and Dexter. He currently resides in Cainta, Rizal.
Interesting to find out that De Guzman is a town mate of Edicio De La Torre, the rebel priest who was the first Director-General of TESDA under the Estrada administration. De La Torre and Horacio Morales, led the leftist-militants who went on their own out of Sison’s orbit to support Erap’s candidacy. They later dumped Erap when it was politically convenient.
The leftist-militant groups haven’t been able to win any position in a direct election since they went mainstream under the party-list system. Only Risa Hontiveros has been elected to the Senate but only after a direct alliance with the Liberal Party, under the direction of Ronald Llamas, who also broke away from Jose Maria Sison.
The irony of not being able to win an election, despite their claim of people’s support, is lost on the young recruits of leftist-militant groups who think they can make a difference by joining either of the two factions; one pro-Sison and the other anti-Sison. What is evident now is De Guzman has gone back to Sison’s fold as he is being supported by the Makabayan bloc identified with the CPP/NPA/NDF.
Leni Robredo is allied with both Akbayan and the Makabayan blocs. It’s not a frictionless alliance as there are reports that Makabayan is inclined to support Isko Moreno’s Presidential run over Robredo’s. There is also the issue of Robredo not making Neri Colmenares a part of her Senatorial slate, opting for Sonny Matula at the last minute.
The leftist-militant groups have been hitching their wagon to mainstream political party’s post-Marcos. They supported Erap in 1998. They were split when Akbayan was formed in 2010 between Noynoy Aquino and Manny Villar, who had Satur Ocampo and Liza Masa in his Senatorial slate, along with Bongbong Marcos. In 2016, they went for Grace Poe but later switched to Duterte on Sison’s instructions.
The communists would like the public to believe that they are not into transactional politics but they are. They would like a seat at the leadership table without the benefit of election which is why the peace talks with the government have always failed. They exchange the votes of the masses which they control for concessions from the political establishment.
This is why they are at the forefront of ABS-CBN being granted a new franchise. They claim to be anti-American but human rights NGOs under their control receive grants from the National Endowment for Democracy which is a known CIA front. Their media sympathizers such as Inday Espina Varona and her band of paid hacks work for Rappler and anti-Duterte media outlets such as those controlled by the MVP group.
The truth is they are no different from the traditional politicians they claim to disdain. They are the termites and leeches who do nothing for the people they claim to serve. The Iglesia ni Cristo is a better union organization than leftist-militants will ever be.
Leody Manggagawa has gone a long way from Naujan, Oriental Mindoro judging from the family’s Christmas photo. He doesn’t have an Eskimo’s chance in hell of winning the Presidency but why is he running? It’s nothing more than a ploy to win credibility with the masses whom the leftist-militants continue to exploit for their own selfish ends. This is why the people shouldn’t vote for them.
Neither should they vote for Leni Robredo or Isko Moreno who are also tools of the oligarchs just like these leftists.
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