Sonny Matula

Sonny Matula is a labor leader and an aspiring politician.

Early life
Matula was born on January 21, 1965, in Agusan del Sur to Carlos Matula Sr and Basilia Matula, He was a valedictorian of the Loreto Central Elementary School. he later moved to Butuan City, having high school at Agusan National High School, he later went to Mindanao State University, from which he got the Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

Career
Sonny Matula is the Federation of Free Workers president, he served as a legal counselor for 20 years, before becoming the executive director of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission from 2001 to 2002, he became the commissioner of the Social Security System (SSS) from 2006 to 2010, from which he became the chairperson of the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition.

Sonny Matula ran for senator in the 2019 Philippine Senate elections, losing with 50th out of 62 people or with 400,339 votes.

Sonny Matula was chosen to be the 12th senator for the Team Robredo–Pangilinan coalition, running as an independent politician,  the Makabayan Coalition endorsed Matula in a sports ceremony.

Personal life
Matula is married to Melba Cubal, an accountant, having two children with her.

Labor code
Matula supports the Labor Code, advocating for a higher penalty if the code was broken, he supported raising the penalty from 1,000 PHP to 50,000 PHP. He stated that "employers violate the labor code frequently because the penalty is low". A former law was filed by Senator Win Gatchalian which was then vetoed by former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Others
Sonny Matula advocates for more jobs outside Metro Manila and urges the Congress to fix the Wage Rationalization Act or Republic Act No. 6727, and to up the minimum wage in rural areas in the Philippines.

Controversies
After Leni Robredo added Sonny to join her senate slate, Sonny and his group allegedly supported Robredo's rival, Bongbong Marcos, Sonny denied the statement, stating "We gave Marcos the courtesy of a guest and as an elected senator of the republic. The same courtesy we extended to the other candidates who attended our 2016 election forum".