His Humble Beginnings
Matula grew up in Loreto Agusan del Sur. He was a valedictorian at the Loreto Central Elementary School. He was a newsboy to sustain his secondary Education at the Agusan National High School in Butuan City. He obtained a state scholarship from the Mindanao State University and obtained thereat his Bachelor of Arts degree.
He graduated Bachelor of Laws at the Manuel L. Quezon School of Law and graduated in 1997. He hurdled the difficult bar exam of 1997 and became a lawyer in 1998. Thereafter and until today he has been the workers’ lawyer with thousands of cases before quasi-judicial and regular courts – with landmark cases in favor of labor before the Supreme Court.
Matula is a reserve officer of the AFP Reserve Command with a rank of major in the Philippine Army. He was the best field grade officer of the AFPRESCOM officer in 2008. Matula is happily married to Melba Cubal Matula, a professor of Accountancy at the University of Sto Tomas and who came from Bohol. They have two kids, Ignatius Matthew and Theresa Isabel. They are now residing in Binan, Laguna.
Matula is also a 4th degree member of the Knights of Columbus, Council 12318, of the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Binan, Laguna.
Jose Sonny Matula
Labor Party-Philippines senatorial candidate Atty. Sonny Matula envisions a society where all workers have decent jobs with family living wages, having enough food for every meal, decent homes, quality education and enough medical care and social security benefits.
According to Atty. Matula, the Senate plays a very vital role in our democratic and republican system of government, where the workers must have a voice to achieve the common good in national legislation. However, majority in our society are not represented by the Senate. Based on the WB Report on the year 2018, “mean wages remained stagnant, with only a four (4) percent increase in real terms… Low job quality and slow growth of real wages are the missing links to higher shared prosperity.” The failure to increase budgetary allocations for agrarian reforms, support services and sustainable agriculture, the number of farmers in our country who still farm other people’s lands, the same popular, brand or kind of candidate people are electing every election period persuade him to run for the position.
Jose Sonny Matula
Atty. Sonny Matula has been representing the voices of every Filipino workers since 2010 being the Workers’ Delegate in International Labor Conferences and Worker’s Adviser of the Philippine Delegation in International Labor Conferences at Geneva Switzerland up to June 9, 2019. Before he became the National President of the Federation of Free Workers (FFW), he was a union organizer and educator who teaches Labor Laws, Agrarian Reform and Social Legislations and Legal Ethics in Manuel L. Quezon University School of Law and in the UM-College of Law in Manila.
Matula is also a trade unionist, law lecturer/ reviewer and practicing lawyer, likewise he teaches Constitutional Law, Public International law and Labor Law Review at the University Of Perpetual Help- College Of Law in Las Piñas City. Further, he is a Philippine Law school and U.E. Law Center Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) lecturer for lawyers and a Pre-Bar Reviewer in Labor Law for bar examinees in New Era College of Law in Quezon City and Central Luzon State University in Tuguegarao City. He was a consultant to the Office of the President assigned to the Office of the Presidential Chief of Staff (OPCS. He once work with the Federation of Free Farmers in Lala and Kapatagan in Lanao del Norte . Matula was also a legal counsel of a number if affiliates of the Pambansang Kilusan ng Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA) and the Lakas Magsasakang Pilipino (LMP).
Jose Sonny Matula
Other than the promotion and defense of our democratic, human and trade union rights, Atty. Sonny Matula wanted to pursue the creation of decent jobs by following legislation for the modernization of sustainable agriculture, speedy completion of the agrarian reform program, national industrialization and preparation for the coming industry where human, robots, and artificial intelligence will interact. He wanted to end the endo contract as well as the promotion and defense of freedom of association and promotion of collective bargaining. The pursuit of living wage as mandated by the Constitution (Article XV) and adoption of a National Minimum Wage, wage increase for workers that would immediate tide them and their families amid the rising cost of living. Lastly, enhance social protection, covering domestic and overseas Filipino Workers as well as the informal sector, the young, those with disabilities and the seniors, that would include enhancement of existing social security programs, plus employment insurance and family allowance.
Atty. Sonny Matula, as he represent the Labor Party-Philippines this May 13, 2019 in the Senatorial Election really is excited to serve people with all of his experiences and platforms. He firmly believes that the workers can no longer depend on traditional politicians who will promise the moon and the stars to woo them because for Atty. Matula, the best representatives of workers are the workers themselves or those coming from the ranks of workers.—Myka M. delos Santos
