I’m the seventh of thirteen siblings, of which three are fortunate to have finished college. I live in Cainta, Rizal but I grew up in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro with my wife Marie and my children, Olan, Lei and Dek.

I’ve been working since I was in college. I completed my degree in Customs Administration from the Philippine Maritime Institute in Manila as I worked for a leather gloves factory in Pasig.

When I was studying, the assassination of Ninoy Aquino followed by listening to leaders like Pepe Diokno, Lorenzo Tanada and Butz Aquino opened my eyes to the urgency of joining the campaign against the Marcos dictatorship, which later on led to organizing alongside my fellow workers for the protection of all marginalized sectors.

In my 36 years of organizing, I have been part of and was granted the opportunity to lead worker groups organizing for fair wages, benefits and regularization. I was also part of national coalitions like KOM-VAT, Legislated Wage Increase or LAWIN 35, and many more.

At present, I serve as Chairman of Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) together with Luke Espiritu who serves as President.

I have also represented the country in the International Council ng International Center for Labor Solidarity (ICLS) and was also once the Vice President of Asia Regional Organization of Bank, Insurance and Finance Union, (AROBIFU) where I was able to take part in various conferences and gatherings of workers in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia and New Zealand.