Sonny Matula declares Senate bid

Labor leader Sonny Matula. —Screengrab from his Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines — Labor leader and lawyer Jose “Sonny” Matula on Saturday announced his candidacy for senator in next year’s elections under the Workers Party Philippines (WPP), whose presidency he earlier assumed.

Matula is also the president of the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) and chair of the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition.

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He is the second labor leader to announce his senatorial candidacy, after Kilusang Mayo Uno secretary general Jerome Adonis.

A native of Loreto, Agusan del Sur, 59-year-old Matula said there is a need for a genuine “worker-centric” voice in the Senate.

It will be the third time for Matula to run for senator after his failed runs in 2019 under WPP and the second in 2022 under the Team Robredo-Pangilinan slate.

He said he will lead one of the oldest registered political parties in the Philippines into a new era (WPP was founded on Feb. 3, 1963), while continuing his role as president of the 74-year-old FFW, the country’s oldest labor federation with over 100,000 members. —Jerome Aning