| Jose Wright Diokno | |
|---|---|
| Senator of the Philippines | |
| In office December 30, 1963 – September 23, 1972 |
|
| Secretary of Justice | |
| In office December 31, 1961 – May 19, 1962 |
|
| President | Diosdado Macapagal |
| Preceded by | Alejo Mabanag |
| Succeeded by | Juan Liwag |
| Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Human Rights | |
| In office 1986–1987 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 26, 1922 Manila, Philippines |
| Died | February 27, 1987 (aged 65) Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Political party | Nacionalista Party |
| Spouse(s) | Carmen Icasiano Diokno |
| Alma mater | De La Salle College, Manila |
| Occupation | Public official |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Website | Diokno.org |
Jose "Pepe" Wright Diokno (February 26, 1922 - February 27, 1987) was a Filipino nationalist. He served as Senator of the Philippines, Secretary of Justice, founding chair of the Commission on Human Rights, and founder of the Free Legal Assistance Group.
Diokno is the only person to top both the Philippine Bar Examination and the board exam for Certified Public Accountants (CPA). His career was dedicated to the promotion of human rights, the defense of Philippine sovereignty, and the enactment pro-Filipino economic legislation.
In 2004, Diokno was posthumously conferred the Order of Lakandula with the rank of Supremo—the Philippines' highest honor.[2] February 27 is celebrated in the country as Jose W. Diokno Day.[3]
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Jose W. Diokno Diokno was born in Manila on Feb. 26, 1922, to Ramon Diokno, a former senator and Justice of the Supreme Court, and Leonor Wright, an American mestiza.
In 1937, Diokno graduated as valedictorian of his high school class at De La Salle College, Manila, and went on to study commerce, also at De La Salle. After repeated acceleration, he graduated from college summa cum laude at age 17. Diokno took the CPA board examinations—for which he had to secure special dispensation, since he was too young.[4]
After Diokno enrolled in law at the University of Santo Tomas, his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. During the war, Diokno continued his education by reading his father's law books. When the war was over, he was granted a special dispensation by the Supreme Court, and allowed to take the Philippine Bar Examination despite having never completed a law degree.[4]
Immediately after passing the Bar, Diokno embarked on his law practice, handling and winning high-profile cases, such as successfully battling libel charges against Manila Mayor Arsenio Lacson, and winning an election case on behalf of his father, Ramon.
With his reputation as a legal practitioner, in 1961, Diokno was appointed Secretary of Justice by President Diosdado Macapagal.
In March 1962, Diokno ordered a raid on a firm owned by Harry S. Stonehill, an American businessman who was suspected of tax evasion and bribing public officials, among other crimes. Diokno's investigation of Stonehill further revealed corruption within government ranks, and as Secretary of Justice, he prepared to prosecute those involved. However, President Macapagal intervened, accepting a deal that absolved Stonehill in exchange for his deportment, then ordering Diokno to resign. Diokno questioned Macapagal's actions, saying, "How can the government now prosecute the corrupted when it has allowed the corrupter to go?"[5]
Months later, Diokno ran for senator under the Nacionalista Party in the 1963 elections, and won.
Senator Diokno became chairman of the Senate economic affairs committee, and worked for the passage of pro-Filipino legislation, most notably the Industrial Incentives Law, which provides incentives to Filipino investors and entrepreneurs in order to place control of the Philippine economy in the hands of Filipinos.
Diokno authored of the Oil Industry Commission Bill and Joint Resolution No. 2, which set the policies for economic development and social progress. He also co-authored the Export Incentives Act and the Revised Election Law, among others.
For his performance as legislator, Diokno was named Outstanding Senator by the Philippines Free Press from 1967 to 1970, making him the only legislator to receive the recognition for four successive years.
In the early ‘70s, Diokno sensed a shift in the Marcos presidency toward authoritarianism. Diokno and Ferdinand Marcos were members of the Nacionalista Party, but when Marcos suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, Diokno resigned from the party in protest and took to the streets.[4]
Following the Jabidah Massacre, where 14 Muslim youths were gunned down in Corregidor by Marcos' military, Diokno called on the administration to respect its citizens, saying in an oft-quoted speech, "No cause is more worthy than the cause of human rights... they are what makes a man human. Deny them and you deny man's humanity."[6]
Diokno's second term as Senator was cut short on Sept. 21, 1972, when Marcos declared Martial Law. Shortly after the declaration, Diokno was arrested by the dictatorship. Six carloads of armed soldiers visited Diokno at his home to “invite” him for questioning. They had no warrant[4]. Diokno was then brought to Camp Crame, and later, Fort Bonifacio, where he was detained along with Ninoy Aquino and Chino Roces. Diokno and Aquino, whom the dictatorship considered their foremost opponents, were later transferred to solitary confinement in Laur, Nueva Ecija.
Diokno spent nearly two years in detention. No charge was ever filed against him. Diokno was released arbitrarily on Sept. 11, 1974—Marcos’s 57th birthday.
Upon his release, Diokno set up the Free Legal Assistance Group, which gave free legal services to the victims of martial law. In court, Diokno personally defended tribal groups, peasants, social workers threatened by exploitation and military atrocities. He was also involved in documenting cases of torture, summary execution, and disappearances under the Marcos regime.[4]
Diokno had no fear of being arrested again, and went around and outside the Philippines, spreading a message of hope and democracy. In another oft-quoted speech, he said:
And so law in the land died. I grieve for it but I do not despair over it. I know, with a certainty no argument can turn, no wind can shake, that from its dust will rise a new and better law: more just, more human, and more humane. When that will happen, I know not. That it will happen, I know.[6]
After the 1986 People Power Revolution, brought Corazon Aquino to the presidency, Diokno was appointed founding chairman of the Presidential Committee on Human Rights, and tasked to lead a government panel to negotiate for the return of rebel forces to the government folds.
Diokno would be disappointed, however, by the Mendiola Massacre of January 22, 1987, where 15 farmers staging a peaceful rally in Mendiola were gunned down by the military under Aquino. Diokno resigned from his two government posts in deep disgust and great sadness. Daughter Maris says, "It was the only time we saw him near tears.”[4]
In 1984, even before People Power, Diokno had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. He had smoked all his adult life. Diokno continued to work, despite his illness, until his death on Feb. 27, 1987—one day after his 65th birthday.
Following Diokno's death, President Cory Aquino declared March 2–12, 1987 as a period of national mourning. Expressing her grief, Aquino said, "Pepe braved the Marcos dictatorship with a dignified and eloquent courage our country will long remember."*[7]
In 2004, Diokno was posthumously conferred the Order of Lakandula with the rank of Supremo—the Philippines' highest honor.[2]. February 27 is celebrated in the country as Jose W. Diokno Day.[3]
In 2005, the first ever "Ka Pepe Diokno Champion of Human Rights" award was given to Executive Judge Voltaire Y. Rosales of Tanauan, Batangas for his effort in protecting the downtrodden. Subsequent annual awards have been given to worthy candidates who, in their life and death, fulfilled the values of protecting human rights just as Senator Diokno.[8]
In 2007, by virtue of Republic Act No. 9468, Bay Boulevard, a 4.38 kilometer road in Pasay and Parañaque cities was renamed Jose W. Diokno Boulevard in his honor and memory.
Sen. Diokno was married to Carmen Icasiano, with whom he had ten (10) children: Carmen Leonor, Jose Ramon, Maria de la Paz, Maria Serena, Maria Teresa, Maria Socorro, Jose Miguel, Jose Manuel, Maria Victoria and Martin Jose.
Maria Serena, or "Maris," a historian, is the current chair of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, and former Vice President for Academic Affairs of the University of the Philippines.
Jose Manuel, or "Chel," is a human rights lawyer, Chairman of the Free Legal Assistance Group, Founding Dean of the De La Salle University College of Law, and former Special Counsel of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.
A Nation for Our Children, a collection of Jose W. Diokno’s essays and speeches on human rights, nationalism, and Philippine sovereignty, was published in 1987 by the Diokno Foundation. The collection is named after Diokno's popular speech, in which he says,
There is one dream that all Filipinos share: that our children may have a better life than we have had. So there is one vision that is distinctly Filipino: the vision to make this country, our country, a nation for our children.[6]
Several parts of the book are now accessible online, at The Diokno Foundation