Diokno to run in Eleksyon 2022 but still unsure which position

Days after he was named as one of opposition coalition 1Sambayan’s nominees for president and vice president, human rights lawyer Chel Diokno on Wednesday said he will run in the 2022 elections.

Diokno, however, said he has yet to make a final decision on what elective position he would be vying for.

“It's difficult now to make a final decision about what position, and I never aspired for President or VP, which 1Sambayan has nominated me for. But I think it's important that ordinary Filipinos and the youth have a voice,” he said in a tweet.

Yes, to be clear: I will run in 2022. It's difficult now to make a final decision about what position, and I never aspired for President or VP, which 1Sambayan has nominated me for. But I think it's important that ordinary Filipinos and the youth have a voice.

— Chel Diokno (@ChelDiokno) June 16, 2021

The human rights lawyer said the justice system will only get fixed if people in power do something about it.

“I've been a lawyer for three decades, every day I work on my Free Legal Helpdesk, and I've seen it firsthand. I know how we should fix our justice system,” he said.

Over the weekend after being named as one of 1Sambayan’s nominees, Diokno said he was very honored by the nomination but “right now, I am focused on my Free Legal Helpdesk.”

I am very honored by the nomination, although I never aspired for those positions. Right now, I am focused on my Free Legal Helpdesk, and I hope to serve our country, especially the youth and the ordinary Filipino, in justice, accountability, and relief from the pandemic.

— Chel Diokno (@ChelDiokno) June 12, 2021

Diokno ran for a Senate seat in the 2019 midterm elections under the Otso Diretso opposition coalition, but lost.

Other nominees of 1Sambayan include Vice President Leni Robredo, former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, Senator Grace Poe, CIBAC party-list Representative Eduardo Villanueva, and Batangas Representative Vilma Santos-Recto.

Poe and Santos-Recto have said that they have no plans of running in the upcoming elections.

Meanwhile, Robredo has stressed the importance of a common bet against President Rodrigo Duterte's chosen standard-bearer in the elections. — RSJ, GMA News