Leody de Guzman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Leodigario De Guzman July 25, 1959 |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Education | PMI Colleges |
| Occupation | Labor leader |
| Organization(s) | Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, Sanlakas |
| Political party | Partido Lakas ng Masa |
| Spouse | Marieza Tolentino |
| Children | 3 |
Leodigario “Ka Leody” De Guzman (born July 25, 1959) is a Filipino unionist and labor rights activist. He was the former President and 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
editDe Guzman was born on July 25, 1969 in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. He finished a Bachelor of Science in Customs Administration from the Philippine Maritime Institute, as he entered work as a leather gloves factory worker at Aris Philippines Inc. leather glove factory to support his family.
Activism
editDe 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.
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 chairman of BMP. [Can we insert some of the major struggles of BMP here]