Chel Diokno seeks House seat as Akbayan's nominee in 2025
by Ian Laqui · philstarMANILA, Philippines — Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno officially filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for a seat at the House of Representatives on Monday, October 7, as the first nominee of Akbayan party-list.
Diokno, son of the late Martial Law opposition leader Jose "Pepe" Diokno, is seeking a seat in the lower chamber after two consecutive unsuccessful Senate bids in 2019 and 2022.
Diokno first ran as a senatorial aspirant in 2019 on the opposition slate “Otso Diretso.” He placed the 21st, garnering 6,342,939 votes in a tight 12-position race.
In the 2022 presidential elections, Diokno ran again for Senate on the slate of former Vice President Leni Robredo. He placed 19th, improving his previous ranking, having earned 9,978,444 votes.
Joining Akbayan. He was named the Akbayan first nominee last week, September 28. This was after the progressive group was belatedly declared a winner in the 2022 party-list elections, taking the post that canceled party-list An Waray vacated.
Rep. Perci Cendaña (Akbayan), who was sworn in on September 25, will be the party's second nominee in the 2025 elections, with Moro leader Dadah Ismula as the third nominee.
Akbayan, with Sen. Risa Hontiveros as its highest seated official, also reaffirmed its support for former senators Francis Pangilinan of the Liberal Party and Bam Aquino of Katipunan ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino in their Senate bids.
Outside his attempts at Congress, Diokno is the founding dean of the De LaSalle University College of Law and the chairperson of the Free Legal Assistance Group or FLAG.