Ed Garcia

Edmundo "Ed" Guidote Garcia (born February 3, 1943) is a Filipino human rights activist, peace advocate, and writer.

Garcia is best known for having served as one of the framers of the 1987 Philippine Constitution wherein which he advocated for the inclusion of human rights and social justice provisions in the charter, under the mentorship of CHR chairman and the acknowledged "Father of Human Rights" Jose W. Diokno.

In 1970, then a seminarist, he co-founded the militant youth political movement LAKASDIWA (Lakas ng Diwang Kayumanggi). The group was conceived as an alternative to the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist (MLM) ideology of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the National Democratic Front (NDF) which called for armed struggle.

Political involvement In 1970, Garcia co-founded the militant youth political movement LAKASDIWA (Lakas ng Diwang Kayumanggi). The movement and its distinct political ideology (Filipino Social Democracy) sought to create a nonviolent path towards social change, drawing from diverse sources such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Liberation Theology, including indigenous philosophies. During martial law, members of LAKASDIWA formed the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas that also shared a Social Democratic alternative to the Marcos regime. Later, Garcia became a member of KAAKBAY, a broad nationalist political movement against the Marcos dictatorship led by imprisoned senator Jose W. Diokno.

After the 1986 People Power Revolution which ended the Marcos regime, Garcia was appointed by the Aquino government as a representative in the 1986 Constitutional Commission tasked to create a "Freedom Constitution." He served as one of the framers of the 1987 Philippine Constitution and together with youth representative Chito Gascon were key advocates for the inclusion of human rights and social justice provisions in the charter; he consulted Diokno a fortnight before the plebiscite.

Recognition In 2015, Garcia was conferred the Parangal Lingkod Sambayanan, a public service award by the Ateneo de Manila University. Stories and Struggle: SocDem Narratives. (2020). Dugout Diaries: The Championship Run. (2020). Far Eastern University. Defiant Hope: Quarantine Stories from a Distance. (2020). ABS-CBN Books. Seachange! Successor Generation (2020). ABS-CBN Books. Companions: XJ Narratives (2021). (Co-editor). San Anselmo Press. Servant Leader: Leni Robredo. (2020/2022). San Anselmo Press. Reinventing Resistance: Memoirs of an Accidental Activist. (2025). San Anselmo Press. Chronicle of a Life Untold. A Testament of Hope. (2026). San Anselmo Press.