Leody de Guzman

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Leodegario "Ka Leody" Quitain de Guzman (Tagalog pronunciation: [ˈljodɪ deˈɡusman]; 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 de Guzman and Dolores 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 placed 38th of 62 candidates with 893,506 (2.17%) of the vote, and did not win a seat.