31/10/2021
OPINION | What the candidacy of Ka Leody means to us
The prospect of electoral politics is polarizing. Months ahead of the national elections and the filing of Certificate of Candidacies, we witness the division brought by the past administrations. In large backdrops of continuous disinformation and misinformation, political machineries, ideological divisions, and decades of socio-economic disadvantage, elections can have the tendency to be a spectacle more than it is about bringing change particularly with long-standing existence of traditional politicians, who are sometimes only bearers of the task to maintain the status quo.
In his book State and Revolution, Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin cited Karl Marx's definition of elections: The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them in parliament.
However, among the roster of presidential candidates who either belong to known parties, are long-time politicians, celebrities, or those who gained popularity throughout a certain period of time one candidate seems to stick out from these clichéd line-ups.
Leodigario “Ka Leody” De Guzman, 62, was born on July 25, 1959 in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. Being a son of farmers, after graduating high school, Ka Leody went straight to a garment factory to work for 12 years in which during the course of these years he had to juggle both work and college until he graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Business Customs Administration in PMI Colleges in 1983.
It was during the movement to oust the late-dictator Ferdinand Marcos and the assassination of late-Senator Ninoy Aquino that Ka Leody personally dispelled the idea of wanting to be rich and instead turn to be of service to Filipinos. The genuine curiosity brought by these events as well as joining rallies forced him to confront his perceptions about the ills of society. Issues like land reform and the entire structure of the economy that keeps workers poor, relating to his personal experiences have led Ka Leody to the realization that there’s something to be done to change these issues.
If there’s anything that Ka Leody brings in the upcoming national elections, it’s the organic support that comes from the organized workforce. To say the least, he doesn’t have any allegiance yet to traditional politicians which prevents him from compromising his priorities.
However, as the country’s electoral politics is hinged on massive machineries which include supports from the rich and powerful, money, networks, and huge payment to advertisements, Ka Leody’s approach turns to a grassroots movement: to hopefully mobilize and organize 50 million workers[1] and get their votes alongside with the use of social media.
While the narrow target of the elections is to defeat the Marcos-Duterte alliances, the candidacy of Ka Leody offers us a new way of thinking about elections. That perhaps we don’t need ostentatious credentials to the point of lying about it to run for public office. That primarily, we need a candidate who can best represent our sectors, who can embody our struggles as a citizen.
Ka Leody’s differences between the rich presidentiables are his similarities to us. His freshness to electoral politics means that he has experienced the life of an activist, a labor organizer, and the life of an ordinary citizen that most rich politicians cannot be able to empathize with in the same way as he does which makes his programs, views, and beliefs about structural changes laser-like in its clarity and unflinching in his assertion.
I’d like to think that there’s a certain stepping stone in socio-economic progress that divorces a politician from fully inhabiting the experience of an average citizen. A worker who continuously wakes up early every morning and suffers in hunger and traffic under the scorching heat of the sun may have a different view of the transportation system compared to a politician who is in an air-conditioned vehicle, has food at his disposal, and has entertainment to let time pass by.
There’s a difference between a worker who got terminated at work because of tardiness owing itself to numerous transportation crises and a politician who, despite not showing up to work, can still get paid the same way if he does. There’s a difference between a young farmer who got his parents killed by state forces in defense of land grabbers and a politician who promises to ensure land reform but does not follow through with it.
Here’s where Ka Leody comes, "Kailangan system change, hindi lang palitan si Duterte, hindi lang para palitan ang mukha ng pangulo sa Malacañang, kundi dapat palitan ang buong sistema ng gobyerno." [2] (We need a system change, not just to replace Duterte, nor replace the face of the president in Malacañang, but to change the entire government system.)
The people have no use with the changing of faces of the incumbent. Ka Leody stands firmly on structural changes and the entire network of struggles that maintain the status quo. His critique about the condition of workers and farmers: “Bakit ang mga manggagawa na siyang gumagawa ng lahat ng bagay sa mundo ay naghihirap?,” “Bakit ang mga magsasaka ay nagugutom gayong sila ang lumilikha ng pagkain?,” is rooted in his lived experiences with these sectors which makes him conclude that structural inequalities in the government are a hindrance to progress and development of Filipinos.
It is important to note that election is just one avenue of change. Every three or six years we get to expect change but ultimately the role of steering our conditions belongs to us. We don’t need the prospect of an election to expect change. We can demand it any time. As Lenin put it, “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks when decades happen.” And the people who have always been along with us are the people who can best represent us.
Source:
[1] Buan, L. (2021). Labor leader Leody de Guzman files candidacy for president. Rappler. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/nation/elections/leody-de-guzman-files-certificate-candidacy-president-2022
[2] Buan, L. (2021). Despite landslide 2019 loss, labor leader Leody de Guzman to run for president. Rappler. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/nation/elections/leody-de-guzman-to-run-president-2022
[3] Now You Know. (2019). SINO SIYA: Ka Leody de Guzman. Retrieved from https://web.facebook.com/nowyouknowph/videos/2353030908082928
Article: Drex Le Jaena
Graphics: John Lester Limpin
Photo: Rappler
