Modesto "Mody" Toque Floranda (born November 4, 1965) is a Filipino

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

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 ranks of

jeepney A jeepney (), or simply a jeep (), is a type of Public transport, public utility vehicle (PUV) that serves as the most popular means of Transportation in the Philippines, public transportation in the Philippines. Known for its crowded seating ...

and other public utility vehicles drivers who is the President of the militant group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (PISTON). 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

Floranda was born to a farmer and fisherfolk in

Cavinti Cavinti, officially the Municipality of Cavinti (), is a municipality located in the Sierra Madre mountain range in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 Census, it has a population of 23,980 people. Major produce are ...

, Laguna. Under

Martial Law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

, his family experienced hardships and oppression. On September 28, 1972, his family and

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

were taken by the

Philippine Constabulary The Philippine Constabulary (PC; , ''HPP''; ) was a gendarmerie-type military police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Police. It was created by the Insular Government, American occupat ...

as they were struggling for land against an haciendero. Their house and food were destroyed. Because of these experiences, he joined the movement against dictatorship, although he experienced different kinds of

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

under the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

. After the dictatorship, he worked in Metro Manila as an FX driver of the route

Cubao Cubao may refer to: * Cubao, Quezon City, a district of Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines ** Araneta Center–Cubao station (LRT) on Line 2 ** Araneta Center–Cubao station (MRT) on Line 3 ** Cubao Cathedral The Immaculate Conceptio ...

- Vito Cruz. This is where he realized the different kinds of oppression of the government against FX and jeepney drivers and operators because of high fines and high prices of gasoline.

Activism

As a transport leader, he has led numerous jeepney drivers and operators' transport strikes and other numerous forms of protests opposing the government's jeepney phaseout program as a form of

privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

. He first experienced phaseout when he was an FX driver in 2014. He advocates for pro-people

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...

system in the Philippines that would be achieved through national industrializaiton which includes support for local manufacturing. He has also spoken against continuous oil price hikes in the Philippines which is due to the

value-added tax A value-added tax (VAT or goods and services tax (GST), general consumption tax (GCT)) is a consumption tax that is levied on the value added at each stage of a product's production and distribution. VAT is similar to, and is often compared wi ...

(VAT), TRAIN Law, and excise tax where about ₱9,000 is lost from jeepney drivers' monthly income. He and PISTON has slammed oil deregulation (particularly the Oil Deregulation Law or Republic Act No. 8479) and profiteering of oil companies as the reason for oil price hikes.

2025 Senate run

Floranda was revealed as part of Makabayan Senatoriable slate on

National Heroes Day Heroes' Day or National Heroes' Day may refer to a number of commemorations of national heroes in different countries and territories. It is often held on the birthday of a national hero or heroine, or the anniversary of their great deeds that ...

, August 26, 2024. Floranda challenged the electoral system in the Philippines that those that should be questioned are those coming from political dynasties, that poor people running for position must not have doubts cast about them.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Floranda, Mody Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Makabayan politicians Politicians from Masbate Filipino trade union leaders Filipino activists

Early life

Activism

2025 Senate run

See also

References

External links