Jose Diokno

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.

Early life and education

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 college, summa cum laude, at the age of 17. Diokno took the CPA board examinations—for which he had to secure special dispensation, since he was too young—and topped them with a rating of 81.18 percent.

Diokno then enrolled in law at the University of Santo...
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