Chel Diokno was born on February 23, 1961, in Pasay City as the eighth of ten children to human rights lawyer Jose W. Diokno, who later became a Senator, and Carmen "Nena" Icasiano.[5] He is the great-grandson of Ananías Diokno, a leader of the Visayans during the Philippine–American War, and the grandson of Ramón Diokno, a nationalist who served as Senator and Supreme Court Associate Justice.
Diokno completed his elementary and secondary education at La Salle Green Hills. As a student, he was the student council leader, a member of the varsity basketball team, and developed an interest in cycling and aikido, where he earned a black belt.[11]
Chel Diokno passed the bar examination in the State of Illinois, USA, and subsequently in the Philippines.[13] Upon returning to the Philippines in 1987, he embarked on a career as a lawyer and human rights advocate.[14]
In 2007, he, along with fellow FLAG lawyers Theodore Te and Ricardo Sunga III, petitioned and were granted by the Supreme Court to issue Writs of Amparo for Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo, two brothers who were allegedly tortured by military agents.[19]
In 2008, he secured the release of the "Tagaytay 5," who were allegedly illegally detained by the Philippine National Police.[20]
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 Senator 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.[24]
On July 19, 2019, the PNP–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) filed charges against Diokno and other opposition members for "sedition, cyber libel, libel, estafa, harboring a criminal, and obstruction of justice." These charges were related to the "Bikoy" videos.[28][29] On February 10, 2020, he was cleared of all charges.[30]
On June 12, 2021, he was named among the six nominees of 1Sambayan, a coalition aiming to field a single candidate against President Duterte's successor in the 2022 Philippine presidential election.[31][32] Despite this, he stated that he was honored by the nomination but preferred to focus on his Free Legal Helpdesk and other forms of service.[33]
On May 14, 2024, Diokno announced his intention to run for the Senate for a third time in the 2025 elections.[37] However, on September 18, 2024, Diokno became a member of Akbayan.[38] Diokno later announced that he shall vie for a seat in the House of Representatives through party-list route as Akbayan's first nominee.[39]
Other career
Diokno holds several current corporate and policy positions, including:
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 and considered the main staple in trial courses;[44]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.
Personal life
Chel Diokno as a human rights advocate with his wife Divina
Diokno is the son of Filipino nationalist Senator Jose W. "Ka Pepe" Diokno, the acknowledged father of human rights in the Philippines and intellectual leader 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. Their eldest daughter Laya Elena became a lawyer in 2022.[45]
^Jimenez-David, Rina (January 29, 2008). "Who's publicity-hungry?". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 26, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
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