Chel Diokno

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In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Icasiano and the surname or paternal family name is Diokno.
Chel Diokno
Chel Diokno at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in February 2019
Diokno at an event honoring the heroes and martyrs of Martial Law at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani on February 23, 2019
Dean of the DLSU College of Law
In office
2009–2019
Succeeded byVirgilio de los Reyes
Personal details
Born
Jose Manuel Icasiano Diokno

(1961-02-23) February 23, 1961 (age 60)
Manila, Philippines
Political partyLiberal
Spouse(s)Divina Aromin-Diokno
Children6 including Pepe[citation needed]
ParentsSen. Jose W. Diokno and Carmen Icasiano
RelativesMaris Diokno, sister
Sen. Ramón Diokno, grandfather
Gen. Ananías Diokno, great-grandfather
Gov. Gen. Félix Berenguer de Marquina, ancestor
Francis Garchitorena, distant uncle
Alma materLa Salle Green Hills
University of the Philippines Diliman (B.A.)
Northern Illinois University (J.D.)
OccupationLawyer, Professor
Websitediokno.ph

Jose Manuel "Chel" Icasiano Diokno, J.D. (Tagalog: [ˈdʒɔknɔ], born February 23, 1961)[1] is a Filipino lawyer, educator, and human rights advocate. He serves as chairman of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) and the founding dean of the De La Salle University College of Law. He has served as a special counsel of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.[2]

Early life and education[]

Diokno was born on February 23, 1961 as the eighth of the ten children of Senator Jose W. Diokno and his wife Carmen "Nena" Icasiano. He is the great-grandson of Ananías Diokno, the leader of the Visayans during the Philippine–American War, and father of nationalist and Supreme Court Justice Sen. Ramón Diokno.

Diokno completed his elementary and secondary education at La Salle Green Hills. Afterwards, in 1982 he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy at the University of the Philippines Diliman, studied Bachelor of Laws at the University of the Philippines College of Law for a year until 1983 and then studied law at Northern Illinois University (NIU) in the United States, where he graduated Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, in 1986.[3] He passed the Bar of the State of Illinois in 1987, and after his father's death went back to the Philippines where he took the Bar Examinations of 1988. He passed the examinations and started his law practice the following year.

Personal life[]

Diokno is the son of Filipino nationalist Senator Jose W. "Ka Pepe" Diokno, the father of human rights in the Philippines and intellectual leader of the opposition against the Marcos regime. His sister, Maris Diokno, is a senior administrator in the University of the Philippines system and is a former chair of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. Diokno married a writer named Divina Aromin; their eldest son is the filmmaker Pepe, who was named after his grandfather.

Politics[]

In the Philippine general election of 2019, Diokno launched a campaign for a seat in the Senate under Otso Diretso, a coalition that was against the purported human rights violations of President Rodrigo Duterte; he lost with 6,308,065 votes.[4]

On July 19, 2019, the PNP–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) filed charges against Diokno and other members of the opposition for "sedition, cyber libel, libel, estafa, harboring a criminal, and obstruction of justice".[5][6] On February 10, 2020, he was cleared of all charges.[7]

On June 12, 2021, he was named among the six nominees of 1Sambayan, a coalition that will put up one lone candidate against President Duterte's handpicked successor in the 2022 Philippine presidential election, for president and vice president.[8][9] Fellow Otso Diretso senatorial candidate Samira Gutoc earlier said in 2019 that he can be an opposition standard bearer.[10] However, he said that he was very honored by the nomination, although he never aspired for those positions as he is focused on his Free Legal Helpdesk, and hopes to serve the country, especially the youth and the ordinary Filipino, in justice, accountability, and relief from the pandemic.[11]

On September 15, 2021, he announced that he will be running again for senator in 2022, this time as an independent candidate.[12]

Legal career[]

Diokno passed the bar examination in the State of Illinois and then in the Philippines.[13] Upon his return to the Philippines in 1987, he served as a lawyer and a human rights advocate.[14] Diokno is a member and the current chairman of FLAG.[15][16]

Notable Cases[]

  • Diokno was part of the team of FLAG lawyers who prosecuted the 27 police officers implicated in the 1995 Kuratong Baleleng rubout case.[17]
  • He is the counsel of Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada, NBN/ZTE whistleblower, and lead witness in the Ombudsman's cases against former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) head Romulo Neri and former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair Benjamin Abalos.[18]
  • In 2007, he along with fellow FLAG lawyers Theodore O. Te and Ricardo A. Sunga III, petitioned and were granted by the Supreme Court to issue Writs of Amparo for leftist activists Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo, two brothers who were allegedly tortured by agents of the military.[19]
  • In 2008, he won the release of the "Tagaytay 5," leftist activists who were illegally detained by the Philippine National Police.[20]
  • Together with Attorney Te, Diokno represented some media organizations in a petition against the Arroyo administration. The case brought together members of ABS-CBN, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Probe Productions, Newsbreak, and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, among others for allegedly being rounded up for their "illegal" coverage of the Manila Peninsula Siege.[21][22]

Government service[]

In the 1990s, Diokno served in the Commission on Human Rights under Presidents Cory Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos. He was also a member of the Committee on Human Rights and Due Process at the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).[13]

In 2001, Diokno was the private prosecutor in the impeachment proceedings against then-President Joseph Estrada. That same year, he became General Counsel of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee (the Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigation) under Sen. Joker Arroyo. In 2004, he was appointed Special Counsel at the Development Bank of the Philippines.[13]

Until 2019, Diokno served as the Presidential Adviser on Human Rights at the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and was a member of the Panel of Arbitrators at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.[citation needed]

Academe[]

In 2006, Diokno set up the Diokno Law Center providing legal training to agencies such as the Comelec, the Public Attorney's Office, the Philippine National Police, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Bureau of Customs, and the IBP. In 2009, he established the De La Salle University College of Law and became its founding dean.

Advocacy[]

Wigberto Tañada, Nene Pimentel, and Chel Diokno at the 2018 Honoring of Martyrs and Heroes at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani on 30 November 2018

Human rights[]

He advocated human rights in his law practice with the Free Legal Assistance Group, as counsel to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, and in his role as the founding Dean of the De La Salle University College of Law.[23]

Position against Martial Law[]

As the descendant of former Senator and Martial Law critic Jose W. Diokno, Chel Diokno has taken a stand against the alleged "historical negationism" and "denialism" regarding the Philippines' Martial Law era under Ferdinand Marcos.[24][25][26]

Authored books[]

Diokno has written three books: Diokno On Trial: The Techniques And Ideals Of The Filipino Lawyer (The Complete Guide To Handling A Case In Court), published by the Diokno Law Center in 2007; Civil And Administrative Suits As Instruments Of Accountability For Human Rights Violations, published by the Asia Foundation in 2010, and "Model Pleadings of Jose W. Diokno Volume 1: Supreme Court" published by the Diokno Law Center in 2020. He has also written news articles on forensic DNA, electronic evidence, anti-terrorism legislation, media law, and judicial reform.[13]

Filmography[]

Diokno did a voiceover for some scenes of the 2018 film BuyBust.

Ancestry[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Chel Diokno [@ChelDiokno] (February 23, 2021). "I didn't think I'd reach this age, but I just celebrated my big 6-0 with my kids by my side and with friends via Zoom. Thank you all for the birthday greetings, and to the "cheldren" for sending me cakes!" (Tweet). Retrieved May 6, 2021 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Pimentel, Boying (2017-02-26). "Diokno: Fight the fear, sing our own song". The Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  3. ^ "DLSU College of Law - Faculty List". DLSU College of Law. 2010-11-05. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  4. ^ "Election 2019 Result".
  5. ^ "Robredo, ilang taga-oposisyon kinasuhan ng PNP-CIDG ukol sa 'Bikoy' videos". ABS-CBN News (in Tagalog). July 19, 2019.
  6. ^ "Sedition raps: Solons, bishop hit 'stupid' PNP". Philippine Daily Inquirer. July 20, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  7. ^ Buan, Lian (February 10, 2020). "DOJ clears Robredo, charges Trillanes in sedition case". Rappler. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  8. ^ Torres-Tupas, Tetch (2021-03-18). "Carpio launches coalition to challenge Duterte's 'anointed one' in 2022 polls". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  9. ^ Gavilan, Jodesz; Abad, Michelle (June 12, 2021). "FAST FACTS: Opposition 1Sambayan's nominees for president, vice president". Rappler. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  10. ^ Punzalan, Jemaine (May 22, 2019). "Chel Diokno can be opposition standard bearer in 2022 - Gutoc". ABS-CBN News.
  11. ^ ""I am very honored by the nomination, although I never aspired for those positions. Right now, I am focused on my Free Legal Helpdesk, and I hope to serve our country, especially the youth and the ordinary Filipino, in justice, accountability, and relief from the pandemic."". Twitter. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  12. ^ Buan, Lian (September 15, 2021). "Trusting 'a lot has changed,' Chel Diokno tries again for Senate". Rappler. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Atty. Diokno's CV (as of November 2010)". We Support Atty. Chel Diokno for Ombudsman. 2011-05-06. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  14. ^ https://diokno.ph/chel-diokno
  15. ^ Inquirer, Philippine Daily (2019-04-05). "Unique killings, same language, lawyers say of drug war reports". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  16. ^ "Meet Lascañas' battle-tested FLAG lawyers". Rappler. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  17. ^ "PHILIPPINES: THREATS/FEAR FOR SAFETY: JOSE MANUEL DIOKNO". Amnesty Internatiionao. Archived from the original on 2019-05-10. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  18. ^ Manahan, Ruben (2009-04-30). "Police arrest Jun Lozada". Manila Times. Manila Times. Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  19. ^ Panaligan, Rey (2007-10-26). "Supreme Court, QC RTC issue 1st Writs of Amparo". Manila Bulletin. Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2012-08-25. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  20. ^ Calleja, Niña Catherine (2008-08-29). "Tagaytay 5 freed; rebellion case 'nonexistent'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  21. ^ Jimenez-David, Rina (2008-01-29). "Who's publicity-hungry?". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2012-03-26. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  22. ^ "17 of 50 Journalists rounded up from The Pen released". GMA News. 2007-11-29. Archived from the original on 2019-05-25.
  23. ^ Geronimo, Jee (2011-05-13). "Ombudsman search: Diokno is no joke". Newsbreak. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  24. ^ Takumi, Rie (2018-09-24). "Bongbong and Enrile's Martial Law video 'adding insult to injury' —Diokno family". GMA News Online. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  25. ^ Gavilan, Jodesz (2018-09-21). "'Distortion of truth': Diokno family slams Bongbong Marcos, Enrile". Rappler. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  26. ^ Galvez, Daphne (2018-09-21). "Diokno family blasts Enrile's 'false' claims on martial law". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2018-10-13.

External links[]

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