Remembrance, Resilience and Resistance in the Time of the Marcos Restoration
Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno
Human Rights Lawyer and Advocate
Chair, Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation
will speak on
Preserving the Bantayog ng mga Bayani (Monument of Heroes Museum)
Saturday, November 4, 2023
2-5pm
Filipino American Community of Los Angeles (FACLA)
1740 W. Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA. 90026
For more info: click here or contact jaimegeaga@gmail.com
RSVP here
JOSE MANUEL “CHEL” DIOKNO
Following the People Power revolution in 1986, Filipino-American physician Ruben Mallari proposed the creation of a memorial dedicated to people who opposed the Marcos dictatorship.
In response the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Memorial Foundation was organized 37 years ago to honor the heroes and martyrs who did not survive to witness their sacrifices valorized by the EDSA People Power Revolution.
Attorney Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno is the Board chairman of Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation. The Bantayogng mga Bayani (Monument of Heroes) – a monument wall and sculpture, a museum, and a research center –honors the martyrs and heroes of the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship. Chel is the son of the esteemed late Senator Jose W. Diokno, the “Father of Human Rights” in the Philippines. Like his father, he rose to prominence as an advocate for human rights, judicial reforms, and social justice. Chel is committed to pass on this legacy – forged by the sacrifices and struggles of those who resisted the martial law dictatorship – to present and future generations of Filipinos. Chel is the founding Dean of the De La Salle (DLSU) College of Law and Chair of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG). He has over 30 years’ experience as a human rights advocate, litigator, author, and educator. The DLSU College of Law is the first law school in the Philippines to include human rights and legal aid training in its curriculum. Chel has taught scores of government and private lawyers, law students and paralegals. He has published several law books, authoring chapters on human rights in textbooks. As a human rights lawyer with FLAG, Chel has represented countless fisherfolk, students, teachers, workers, journalists, soldiers, informal settlers, indigenous peoples, whistleblowers and other victims of abuse. He has defended the people with the least access and financial resources to have equal justice and protections under the law.