Danilo "Ka Daning" Ramos (born September 17, 1956) is a

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

from the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

who is the Chairperson of the militant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), the largest farmers association in the country. In the

2025 Philippine Senate election The 2025 Philippine Senate election was the 35th Philippine Senate elections, election of members to the Senate of the Philippines. It was held on May 12, 2025, within the 2025 Philippine general election. The seats of the 12 senators elected ...

, he is running under

Makabayan Makabayang Koalisyon ng Mamamayan () or simply Makabayan is a coalition of twelve party-lists in the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It was founded on April 16, 2009. The founding assembly was held at the Bahay ng mga Alumni, UP Dil ...

Early life

Ramos had to struggle and he experienced poverty during his early years, born to a farming class and grew up in Brgy. Dakila,

Malolos Malolos , officially the City of Malolos (), is a component city and capital of the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 261,189 people. It is the capital city of the province of Bulacan as the ...

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on ...

. His father was both a carpenter and a peasant, while his mother was a farmer as well. He was active in

catechetical Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as t ...

activities during his youth as part of the Kristiyanong Kapatiran (Christian Brotherhood) in Sta. Isabel Parish. He said that it was in church that he was first exposed to the social realities in the Philippines. His first rally was when their parish was invited to mobilize against the

Bataan Nuclear Power Plant The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) is a nuclear power plant on the Bataan Peninsula, west of Manila, Philippines. Completed but never fueled, it is located on a government reservation at Napot Point in Barangay Nagbalayong, Morong, Bata ...

Activism

He became part of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan in 1983 as its secretary-general. He then became the Spokesperson of Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon in 1988 and its secretary-general from 1989 to 1993 He became the secretary-general of the KMP in 1997. Ramos was a survivor of the 1987

Mendiola Massacre The Mendiola massacre was an incident that took place on Mendiola Street, San Miguel, Manila, Philippines on January 22, 1987, in which state security forces under President Corazon Aquino violently dispersed a farmers' march to Malacañang ...

. He has been a victim of other

human rights violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

, including red-tagging and

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

by alleged state agents who looked where he lives in Malolos, which KMP said has escalated since 2023. However, Ramos has remained steadfast and outspoken against abuses and incompetencies by the government. As a progressive-thinking peasant activist, he has also articulated to students and other audiences the relation of urban struggles having rooted in

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

in the Philippines.

2025 Senate run

Danilo Ramos at the Kampuhan ng mga Magsasaka ng Gitnang Luzon

Ramos was revealed as part of Makabayan Senatoriable slate on, August 22, 2024, near their small family farm with fellow farmers. He said that he vows to champion genuine

agrarian reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...

, food self-sufficiency, and strengthening of local

food production The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the World population, world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from sm ...

. He said that it is time 'to plant' a farmer in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. He has challenged the likes of

Cynthia Villar Cynthia Aguilar Villar (, born Cynthia Ampaya Aguilar on July 29, 1950) is a Filipina politician currently serving as a Senator of the Philippines. She was a member of the House of Representatives for the Lone District of Las Piñas from 2001 ...

with very large landholdings in the Philippines and opposed the Rice Tariffication Law (Republic Act 11203).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos, Danilo 1956 births Filipino farmers Filipino activists Living people Makabayan politicians Politicians from Bulacan People from Malolos