Senatorial candidate Chel Diokno said that he wants every barangay to have free legal services if he gets elected for the upcoming May national elections.
"Ang hangarin ko ay magkaroon tayo ng libreng serbisyong legal sa bawat barrio. Kasi nakaraang Abril, ako'y nagtayo ng isang free legal help desk at nabigla kami na 20,000 na mga katanungang legal ang pumasok sa aming FB page," he told DZRH in an interview.
(I want us to have free legal services for every village. Because last April, I opened a free legal help desk and we were shocked to receive 20,000 legal inquiries on our FB page.)
"Hindi naman talaga kailangan ng lawyer, ang kailangan lang 'yung kaalaman sa batas at 'yun ang gusto kong ibaba sa bawat barangay," he added.
(There is no need for a lawyer, what we need is knowledge of the law and that is what I want every barangay to have.)
Meanwhile, the lawyer also vowed to help farmers and fishermen by pushing for a National Food Security Law if elected as a senator.
"Dahil napakahalaga ng food security satin pero parang … napapabayaan natin ang mga food producers dito sa'tin," he said.
(Because food security is very important for us… but we neglect our food producers.)
"So ang gusto ko ay magkaroon tayo ng isang batas na full support sa form ng technical assistance, expertise, equipment, at pati scholarship sa mga anak nila."
(So I want us to have a law that offers full support in the form of technical assistance, expertise, equipment, and even scholarship for their children.)
Diokno, who is running independently in the Senate, said that aiming for a national post is outside his comfort zone.
"Alam niyo outside of the comfort zone ko 'yan, kaya lang talagang nakita ko 'yung pangangailangan na maayos natin, for example yung ating justice system dahil ang dami-dami nating mga kababayan na naghahanap ng hustisya pero hindi makamit," he said.
(You know this is outside of my comfort zone, however, I saw the need for us to fix for example the justice system because we have a lot of countrymen who are looking for justice but cannot have it.)
Diokno, son of former Senator Jose Diokno, is also a human rights lawyer and is currently the chair of the Free Legal Assistance Group. He is part of the senatorial slate of Vice President Leni Robredo and her running mate, Senator Francis Pangilinan.
