Diokno’s vision for the Philippines and reason behind that vision

Diokno, who is the chairperson at the Free Legal Assistance Group and is called the father of
human rights, handled over 90 percent of human rights cases in the country. With this he believes
in the power of the truth; thus, fighting for what is right even with the thought of fear.
Understanding the importance of the youth’s voice, he encourages them to stand up for the truth
to power and what they believe in, “It’s time in the country that the youth really have a voice”-
Atty. Chel Diokno. He strives to accommodate the citizens in avoidance of day-to-day injustice.
Every person regardless of what they have done in their life has to be treated with a minimum
amount of dignity, even someone who has been convicted still deserves some form of human
dignity. When a person commits a crime, he/she has to be punished by the law but should never
be treated like an animal.

As a defender of human rights, he thinks that the human rights situation today is deplorable,
especially when we talk about the right to life. With this, he openly opposes to the concept of the
death penalty and the killings of Filipino citizen due to their usage of drugs. “I would describe it
(war on drugs) as completely unconstitutional and violative of due process..” - Atty. Chel Diokno,
thus claiming that the President’s Narco list is not evidence-based. Furthermore, Diokno believes
that there death penalty is simply anti-poor, explaining that the death sentences targets only the
proven-stricken.Death Penalty for him is not the severity of the punishment but the certainty of the
punishment that deters crime.

Atty. Chel Diokno’s message to the youth?

Human rights lawyer and Free Legal Assistance Group chairman Atty. Chel Diokno always relays
messages to the youth in support of upholding the power of “standing up”. “We've seen the youth
standing up, speaking the truth to power. It's time in the country that the youth really have a voice,”
Diokno told CNN Philippines’ The Source. He actively supports voters’ education because he
believes that the youth have capability to discern and choose the right leaders of the country.

“The youth has the ability to discern. They can look beyond who can dance well and those who
can have a nice advertisement. But we also have to do a lot of voter education so that it can reach
the ground. The most precious right of all our rights is the right to vote because if we don’t use
that right properly, we can vote the wrong people into becoming our leaders and those are the
realities that people who sold their votes did not realize. They don’t understand how precious that
right to vote is and we need to do something about it,” he said. Moreover, Atty. Diokno encouraged
the youth to stand for justice. “The people who need justice and human rights are the poor,
voiceless, and powerless. That’s why we have the law. It isn’t for the rich but for the protection of
the poor.”

Also refer to this video (message to the youth):

https://www.facebook.com/youthactnowphils/videos/614279529476859

More messages:

https://www.dlsud.edu.ph/news/2019/gap.htm
Sources:

https://www.cnn.ph/news/2019/12/10/International-Human-Rights-Day-2019-youth-speak-up-
Diokno.html