MANILA — The daughter of Partido Lakas ng Masa presidential bet Leody De Guzman, Leah, revealed Monday that he was initially being considered for the position of vice president in the May elections.

"Sinasabi naman niya na parang may mga nag-iisip, nagko-consider na, initially pa nga eh, VP position. Sunod n'un, inaamo-amo niya na ako, 'Paano kaya kung Presidente?'” Leah told Boy Abunda in an interview.

(He says that there are people who seem to be thinking, considering him, initially, for the VP position. Then he told me, 'What if I run for President?')

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Leah said they were shocked when the news came out that their father is filing his candidacy for the country's top post, prompting them to immediately discuss how will it affect the family.

"Nung una, pahaging lamang. And nung lumabas na nga ‘yung balita na magpa-file na siya ng candidacy, siyempre sa amin as a family, nagulat kami and hindi kami sang-ayon nung simula," she shared.

(At first, it was just being discussed in passing. And when the news came out that he was going to file his candidacy, of course, for our family, that was surprising. We were not in favor at the beginning.)

"Kaya ang ginawa namin (on the dining table), nagdiskusyon: ano ‘yung mga pros and cons, ano ‘yung mga implications niya with the family, kasi nga, this is very new to us. And running for the highest position, is this something that we are ready?” she added.

(So what we did [on the dining table], we had a discussion: what are the pros and cons, what are the implications of this move with the family because this is very new to us. And running for the highest position, is this something that we are ready for?)

She said her father assured them then that his bid was for a bigger cause.

"Na-prepare naman. In-assure naman niya na ‘yung purpose ng pagtakbo niya, una, is to have a channel para sa mga platform niya," said Leah.

(He was prepared. He assured that the purpose of his candidacy is primarily to have a channel for his platforms.)

"Naintidihan naman namin na this is for a bigger cause, this is something bigger than all of us. And this is probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so might as well support it."

(We understand that this is for a bigger cause, this is something bigger than all of us. And this is probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so might as well support it.)

Last September, De Guzman accepted the nomination of Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) and various progressive organizations for him to run as president of the country.

De Guzman 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 to the International Council of the International Center for Labor Solidarity.

De Guzman lost in the 2019 midterm senatorial elections placing 38th overall with 888,458 votes. He promised then to end job contractualization, among others.

• After failed Senate bid, labor advocate Ka Leody de Guzman files COC for president

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