Chel Diokno

Diokno launched a campaign for a seat in the Senate under Otso Diretso in the 2019 Philippine general election but lost with 6,308,065 votes.

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". On February 10, 2020, he was cleared of all charges.

Until 2019, Diokno serves the Presidential Adviser on Human Rights of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and he is a member of the Panel of Arbitrators of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

Diokno has written two 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 Civil And Administrative Suits As Instruments Of Accountability For Human Rights Violations, published by the Asia Foundation in 2010. He has also written news articles on forensic DNA, electronic evidence, anti-terrorism legislation, media law, and judicial reform.

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. He still holds the positions up to this day.

In 2001, Diokno was the private prosecutor in the impeachment proceedings against then-President Joseph Estrada. The 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 of the Development Bank of the Philippines.

In the 1990s, Diokno served in 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).

Diokno passed the Bar Examination in the State of Illinois and in the Philippines. In his return to the Philippines in 1987, he served as a lawyer and advocate of Human Rights. Diokno is a member and the current chairman of Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG).

Diokno completed his elementary and secondary education at La Salle Green Hills. Afterwards, he earned a degree in Philosophy at University of the Philippines Diliman, and then studied law at Northern Illinois University (NIU) in the United States, where he graduated Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, in 1986. There, he received an American Jurisprudence Award for Excellence in the Study of Contracts, was a member of the NIU Law Review, and interned at the Office of the State Appellate Defender. 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.

Jose Manuel "Chel" Icasiano Diokno, J.D. (Tagalog: [ˈdʒɔknɔ] ; born February 23, 1961) is a Filipino lawyer, educator, and advocate. He serves as chairman of the Free Legal Assistance Group 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.

Diokno was born on February 23, 1961, the eighth of ten children by Senator Jose W. Diokno and his wife Carmen "Nena" Icasiano.