Chel Diokno joins Akbayan Party ahead of Eleksyon 2025

Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno is now a member of the Akbayan Party ahead of the midterm elections next year.

He was sworn in by Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros during a ceremony on Tuesday.

“I express my sincerest gratitude to Akbayan Party for welcoming me into its fold with open arms. No cause is indeed more worthy than the cause of human rights and I see this partnership as an avenue to continue the Diokno legacy of human rights alongside Akbayan’s progressive and reform-oriented politics,” Diokno said in a statement.

Diokno had been working with the party even before through the Free Legal Assistance Group which he chairs.

"Our partnership was further solidified in the previous elections, a testament to our shared values and common cause against the Duterte regime,” he added.

Hontiveros, on the other hand, noted that the party’s founding was also inspired by the human rights advocacy of Diokno’s father, the later former Senator Jose “Ka Pepe” Diokno.

“Atty. Chel Diokno is a proven formidable and dependable ally in the fight for the rights of ordinary Filipinos. We are confident that he can do more in the legislative branch of government,” she added.

Akbayan earlier said that it is also eyeing former senators Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan and Bam Aquino as Senate bets for a democratic opposition slate in next year’s polls. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/RSJ, GMA Integrated News