MANILA — Labor leader Leody De Guzman vowed Saturday to continue his crusade after his loss in the 2022 presidential election.

At a thanksgiving party in Quezon City, De Guzman said that he believes that change will not come in a snap of a finger.

"Hindi tayo naniniwala na parang isang iglap lang, mababago natin ang daang taong na iminolde ng paghahari ng iilan mula sa lipunan ng mga hari, landlord, at lipunan ng mga kapitalista na ilang taong pinundar at tinanggap sa lipunan na sila dapat ang namumuno," the labor leader said in his speech.

(We do not believe that in a flash, we can change the hundred years molded by the rule of the few from the society of kings, landlords, and the society of capitalists who some people founded and accepted in society that they should be the rulers.)

"Hindi tayo naniniwalang bigla-bigla ‘yun. Naniniwala tayo sa proseso. Kaya ang ating pakikipaglaban ay tuloy-tuloy, araw-araw, may eleksyon o wala lumalaban tayo," he added.

(We don’t believe that all of a sudden. We believe in the process. So our struggle is continuous, every day, with or without elections we are fighting.)

De Guzman claimed aside from financial machinery, disinformation contributed to the return of the Marcos family in Malacañang.

He is hopeful that the “new politics” that he offered will gain more support in the future.

"Bumalik sila kasi wala naman nakitang alternative, ngayon lang natin sinimulan. Dahil nasapol na natin ‘to, dalawa, tatlo na sunod na laban, mananalo na tayo," he said.

(They came back because they didn't see an alternative, we just started now. Since we've got this, two, three times in a row, we're going to win.)

The Partido Lakas ng Masa presidential bet conceded in the 2022 polls after placing 8th among 10 candidates.

De Guzman has admitted gaps in their campaign efforts but said his candidacy placed a spotlight on issues affecting Filipino workers.

He is hoping that his bid would jumpstart conversations about the Philippine elections and guide the public in electing leaders.

• Labor leader Ka Leody concedes in #Halalan2022

De Guzman also lost in the 2019 midterm senatorial elections, placing 38th overall with 888,458 votes.

He is the chairperson of labor group Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino and founding member of party-list Partido Manggagawa.

A longtime labor rights activist, he is the country representative of the International Council of the International Center for Labor Solidarity.

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