Chel Diokno

Jose Manuel "Chel" Icasiano Diokno, J.D. (Tagalog: [ˈdʒɔknɔ]) is a Filipino lawyer, educator, and 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 had served as special counsel of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.[1]

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 an event honoring the heroes and martyrs of Martial Law at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani on 23 February 2019
Dean of the DLSU College of Law
In office
2009–2019
Succeeded byAtty. Virgilio R. De Los Reyes
Personal details
Born
Jose Manuel Icasiano Diokno

Manila, Philippines
Political partyLiberal
Spouse(s)Divina Aromin-Diokno
Children6, including Dir. Pepe Diokno
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

Early life and education

Diokno was born to the eighth of ten children by 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, he earned a 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.[2] He passed the Bar of the State of Illinois in 1987 and after his father's death, he came back to the Philippines and took the Bar Examinations of 1988. He passed the 1988 Bar 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 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 served as chair of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. Diokno married a writer named Divina Aromin, and his eldest son is the filmmaker Pepe, who was named after his grandfather.

Politics

Diokno launched a campaign for a seat in the Senate under the Otso Diretso coalition, which was against the human rights violations of Rodrigo Duterte, in the 2019 Philippine general election but lost with 6,308,065 votes.[3]

On July 19, 2019, the PNP–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) controlled by Duterte filed charges against Diokno and other members of the opposition for "sedition, cyber libel, libel, estafa, harboring a criminal, and obstruction of justice".[4][5] On February 10, 2020, he was cleared of all charges.[6]

Diokno passed the Bar Examination in the State of Illinois and in the Philippines.[7] In his return to the Philippines in 1987, he served as a lawyer and advocate of Human Rights.[8] Diokno is a member and the current chairman of FLAG.

Notable Cases

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).[7]

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.[7]

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.

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.[15]

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.[16][17][18]

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.[7]

Filmography

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

Ancestry

See also

References
  1. Pimentel, Boying (2017-02-26). "Diokno: Fight the fear, sing our own song". The Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  2. "DLSU College of Law - Faculty List". DLSU College of Law. 2010-11-05. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  3. "Election 2019 Result".
  4. "Robredo, ilang taga-oposisyon kinasuhan ng PNP-CIDG ukol sa 'Bikoy' videos". ABS-CBN News (in Tagalog).
  5. "Sedition raps: Solons, bishop hit 'stupid' PNP". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  6. "DOJ clears Robredo, charges Trillanes in sedition case". Rappler. February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  7. "Atty. Diokno's CV (as of November 2010)". We Support Atty. Chel Diokno for Ombudsman. 2011-05-06. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  8. https://diokno.ph/chel-diokno
  9. "PHILIPPINES: THREATS/FEAR FOR SAFETY: JOSE MANUEL DIOKNO". Amnesty Internatiionao. Archived from the original on 2019-05-10. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. "17 of 50 Journalists rounded up from The Pen released". GMA News. 2007-11-29. Archived from the original on 2019-05-25.
  15. Geronimo, Jee (2011-05-13). "Ombudsman search: Diokno is no joke". Newsbreak. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  16. 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.
  17. Gavilan, Jodesz (2018-09-21). "'Distortion of truth': Diokno family slams Bongbong Marcos, Enrile". Rappler. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  18. Galvez, Daphne (2018-09-21). "Diokno family blasts Enrile's 'false' claims on martial law". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
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