Labor leader and presidential hopeful Leodegario "Leody" De Guzman lamented his exclusion from an online poll on presidential contenders in the 2022 elections.
The online presidential poll was conducted on Facebook by a news media outfit.
De Guzman, who expressed his frustration on Twitter, said that while his exclusion "is not funny," he does not blame the media for "not including his candidacy."
"Sanay na ang manggagawa na walang entablado kung saan mapapakinggan. Kapag mag-rally, sagabal sa traffic. Kapag magwelga, mawawalan ng trabaho (Workers usually don't have a big platform where we can be heard. When we protest, we are treated as traffic obstruction. When we strike, we lose our jobs)," De Guzman wrote.
"Kapag makikipag-usap, sinusumbatan tungkol sa lagay ng ekonomiya. Ang pagtakbo ko ang paraan para magkaroon kami ng entablado. Seryosong pagtakbo ito, sana seryosohin kami ng media (When we try to dialougue, we are scolded about the state of the economy. I am running to gain a bigger platform. I'm serous and I hope the media will also take us seriously)," he added.
De Guzman, who also serves as the chairman of Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, filed his certificate of candidacy for president on Oct. 6.
He previously ran as senator in 2019 under Partido Lakas ng Masa and the Labor Win Coalition with a platform for abolishing contractualization, ensuring living wages and decent jobs, and defending human rights.