Diokno tagged as a defender of the New People?s Army (NPA)

The Facebook page of blogger Alon Calinao Dy claims that human rights lawyer Jose Manuel ?Chel? Diokno is a defender of the New People?s Army (NPA). The claim, posted on June 18, 2021, has 539 reactions, 405 comments and 17 shares at the time of writing. The claim is missing context as Diokno has long been the chairperson for the Free Legal Assistance Group. FLAG has represented individuals previously or allegedly part of far-left groups throughout Diokno?s tenure.

June

2021

Duterte lashes out at Diokno in his public address

Barely 5 minutes into his late night public address on Friday, April 3, Duterte called Diokno a "lousy lawyer" and falsely accused him of "giving encouragement for people to violate the law."

April

2020

Facebook post falsely claims Diokno an NPA head

The claim, made through a meme posted May 10 by Facebook page Blessed Be Philippines, said: Diokno -- ang kumander ng mga NPA na utak sa pagtatag ng mga rebelde sa Luzon (Diokno -- the NPA commander and mastermind behind the establishment of rebels in Luzon). Bernabé Buscayno, known as Kumander Dante, founded the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines on March 29, 1969. No proof of association has been established between him and the Dioknos in any study, article, or investigation.Chel Diokno is affiliated with the Free Legal Assistance Group or FLAG, a human rights organization made up of lawyers providing pro bono services. FLAG clients include the ?Tagaytay 5? --Axel Pinpin, Aristides Sarmiento, Rico Ybañez, Michael Masayes and Riel Custodio--originally detained by the Philippine National Police on suspicion of being NPA members but later acquitted of rebellion charge.

May

2019

Hugpong Kalinaw

Chel Diokno ng otso diritso ay nakikipagsabwatan diumano sa mga lider ng kabataan partylist para sa patuloy na pagprotekta sa mga teroristang CPP/NPA. Tandaan sa darating na election2019 WAG IBOTO ang taong eto dahil isa rin eto na traydor ng ating bayan. Paalala sa lahat: maging mapanuri, mapagmasid at maging wais sa pagpili ng mga kandidato na gustong paupuin sa senado. #zerovotesahalalan2019 #mgasalotsalipunan #dioknotradorngbayan #protektorngmgaterorista

SJTV Team Paangat

Ikaw na may sabe ah! Tinutulungan nyo ang CPP-NPA-NDF. Huli ka Chel Diokno protektor ka pala ah. Kaya pala pagmay namatay na NPA, Adik at mga kriminal todo ang Human Rights sa pagtatanggol sa kanila pero pag simpleng Mamamayan at Walang Kalabang laban wala kayo.

?And for the good of our people, we hope that the government starts treating drug addiction not as a crime but as a health problem,? Diokno said.

November

2019

"Our position is that the killings in the name of the war on drugs constitute as crimes against humanity. Not just because of the number of killings but because they are a deliberate attack on a very clear segment of the civilian population here in the country," he said.

March

2019

Asked about same-sex marriage, Diokno admitted he actually supports the passage of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) bill into law and believes that the rights of those in the LGBT community should also be defended.

May

2019

"Pero sa tingin ko kaya iyan sa isyu ng prangkisa ng ABS-CBN... Maganda ito kasi mismong taumbayan ang gumagawa ng batas. Palagay ko panahon na iyan na mayroon tayong ganyan," the former senatorial candidate added.

July

2020

?I am totally against the death penalty. I was around when we had the death penalty before and even the Supreme Court admitted that 70 percent of those who were handed the death sentence were wrongfully convicted,?

May

2019

"Kahit tumutol ang taumbayan at binawi ng mga mambabatas ang suporta nila, pinipilit pa rin sa atin itong anti-terror bill na mas prioridad pa nila kesa sa COVID testing at ayuda."

June

2020

On Fishermen's petition for West PH Sea Case: "Pagkatapos 'makausap' ng abogado ng Navy, umatras na daw ang mga mangingisda. Hindi raw kanila ang kaso. Hindi lang kahina-hinala na patagong nakipag-usap ang gobyerno sa mga kliyente namin, labag din sa legal ethics yan," Diokno said in a statement on Wednesday.

July

2019

On red tagging in general: ?And at a time when government officials, judges, lawyers, and human rights advocates are being killed with impunity under Duterte?s rule, such red-tagging is irresponsible and dangerous ? especially since such allegations are often the prelude to human rights violations, including harassment, unlawful arrest, torture, and threats to life,? Diokno added.

December

2020

"Ang panawagan ko sana sa [mga] opisina na yan, ay talagang seryosohin nila at talagang ituloy nila na mga nakita na issue ng korapsyon diyan sa imbestigasyon ng Senate Blue ribbon committee,"

December

2021

Diokno published legal advice on his Facebook page on what to do if police target your community pantry.

April

2021

"We have no problem with the Chinese people. But the Chinese government, enabled by the Duterte administration, has shown continued disregard for our sovereignty and territory. It is harassing our people, particularly our fisherfolk. It is even making deals with our own government that might ultimately be detrimental to Filipinos. This makes it impossible to trust China until it starts acting in good faith."

May

2019

?Worse, it allows the state to simply presume the existence of intent from the citizens? acts even if the acts themselves do not constitute a crime,? said Diokno, one of the seven counsels of the petitioners seeking to junk the controversial law.

February

2021

?Our enemies here during this pandemic are not armed soldiers. Our enemy is a virus. So the one who should be in charge of managing the pandemic should, of course, be someone who knows issues in health, issues in science, issues in IT and technology.?

November

2021

"The staggering impact on the economy, the soaring debt of the government, the problem with unemployment, marami na sa ating nagugutom at nangangilangan sa ilalim ng pandemya. Kailangan mabigyan ng high priority ng ating pamahalaan yan. I don't see it happening under this administration and I want to be part of a movement that will really be able to help the ordinary Filipino,"

September

2021

?It was the golden years for them [Marcoses], but not for the country.They had absolute and ultimate power over everything and that allowed them to accumulate so much resources, but it was the complete opposite when it comes to the welfare of the Filipinos,?

September

2021

"Yung P389M dolomite beach, mas mahal pa ang ginastos ng DENR kesa 10 years of projects ng marine scientists natin. Pero ang scientists natin, tuloy lang sa pagsisilbi sa bayan. Kaunting katarungan at respeto naman, lalo na galing dun sa mga wala namang expertise sa ginagawa nila."

October

2020

"When it comes to the issue of drug testing, ano yan eh, meron na kasing desisyon dyan ang ating Supreme Court, that the government cannot impose mandatory drug testing. Until that decision is re-examined, I guess that would be the state of the law. In terms of the votes, definitely, anything that can affect the performance and the integrity of a candidate must be taken into consideration."

November

2021

Tungkol sa political dynasty at sa kanyang tatay na si Ka Pepe: "Wala naman sa aming pamilya yung maging politiko, mag-establish ng political dynasty. Ako'y lumaki sa Martial Law. 25 years old ako nung nawala na yan."

December

2018

"When it comes to balik-eskwela, kailangan safe yan. Ako nga nababahala ako na sobrang bagal ng vaccination rate ng ating pamahalaan. We are lagging behind other countries in terms of getting our people vaccinated...I really think that the first priority of the government should have been to have our vaccination rate as quickly as possible. By now dapat po nasa 50% na tayo at least. For us to safely get our youth back to school, we need to increase that as soon as possible."

November

2021

?I?m in favor of divorce. I think we?re the only country left in the world that does not recognize it. I think its about time we do.I think there is a pending bill in the Congress that passed in the Lower House, but is still pending in the Senate, that provides that when you are separate in fact for more than five years, there is irreconcilable differences and a few other grounds that should be sufficient for divorce, that kind of legislation I would support. Because the problem with psychological incapacity is it causes even greater enmity between the couple because they will keep blaming each other,?

May

2019

"I think there is a way to tighten up the rules to make sure that only candidates who truly have an intention to run file their COCs. Kasi ang nangyayari, ang ginagawa nila ngayon, may placeholder na magfa-file ng COC wala naman talaga siyang intensyon na tumakbo, kaya lang siya nag-file para pwedeng magkaroon ng substitution later. Kung tutuusin, ang pag-file niya ng COC eh nuisance candidate siya, so kung meron man tayong dapat amyendahan sa batas, COMELEC should be required to rule first whether that candidate is a nuisance candidate before allowing the substitution. Kasi kung wala naman siyang genuine intention na tumakbo at ang purpose lang niya ay maging placeholder, dapat talaga ituring siya na nuisance candidate. Kung nuisance candidate siya, clear naman di mo pwedeng i-substitute ang isang nuisance candidate."

November

2021

Candidate Substitution due to Withdrawal