Challenging Authoritarian Rule through Legal Advocacy 

Dino earned his J.D. in 2014 at De La Salle University in the Philippines as part of the pioneer batch of students of the law school which was established to focus on human rights. He began his career in government service and then with a leading private law firm. In 2016, Rodrigo Duterte, who campaigned for violent and repressive measures of government control, was elected President, and his policies plunged the country into its worst human rights crisis since the era of Ferdinand Marcos. Duterte’s violent “war on drugs” claimed the lives of an estimated 12,000-30,000 mostly poor urban dwellers, including children, and instigated attacks on journalists and human rights defenders. As this oppression grew, so did Dino’s drive to challenge these violations. His outrage over the human rights violations in his country, particularly the arrest of Leila de Lima in 2017, motivated him to become deeply involved in human rights work. He transitioned to Dargon Law, where he could work on human rights cases as part of his pro bono work. 

Dino started representing human rights defenders against repressive government tactics that aimed to silence their opposition to Duterte’s policies. One such tactic involved the “red-tagging” of activists, where individuals are accused of being Communists, blacklisted by the government, and potentially arrested in retaliation for their political criticism and dissent. In 2023, Dino represented two environmental activists who were abducted by the military for their questioning of the reclamation of Manila Bay and attempts to educate fisherman communities on the dangers of the project. They were forcibly disappeared by the military for 14 days and, when they resurfaced, the military tried to claim that they were Communist rebels, which they denied. Dino secured injunctive relief from the Supreme Court forbidding the military from approaching them within a one-kilometer radius, requiring the military to turn over the information they had on the two women, and compelling the respondents to report measures that they have taken to ensure the safety of the victims of, as the Supreme Court categorically found, an “enforced disappearance.”  

Dino also represented fourteen youth groups in their petition to ask the Supreme Court to strike down the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 as unconstitutional. The law’s expansive powers allowed the government to suppress and punish virtually any kind of speech as a potential incitement of terror—leaving citizens, particularly youth, at risk of coming into conflict with the law while exercising their constitutional rights. In 2021, the Supreme Court struck down a part of the law for being overbroad and a violation of the freedom of expression—in part due to Dino and his team’s legal advocacy. 

Dino took a direct stand against the regime in 2020. Much of the population was suffering from the pandemic and martial law policies, and Duterte kept performing incomprehensible monologues at 2 a.m. press conferences. Suspecting he was unwell and high on Fentanyl, which Duterte admitted to consuming, Dino filed a case before the Supreme Court to force Duterte to release his health records, despite the risk to himself and his career. No other lawyers would sign at the outset. The Supreme Court did not grant the relief in the case, but the two non-Duterte appointees dissented, calling out the court for its “overly deferential” attitude towards the Chief Executive. 

In perhaps his most high-profile case, Dino defended Philippines Senator and prominent human rights activist, Leila de Lima, in her arrest and arbitrary detention. As the head of the National Human Rights Commission of the Philippines, Leila de Lima opened an inquiry into Duterte’s role in extrajudicial killings during his time as Mayor of Davao City. Shortly after Duterte took office as President, Senator de Lima continued her criticism of his “war on drugs,” and she opened a Senate Inquiry into his recent unlawful killings. In retaliation, Senator de Lima was harassed, intimidated, and ultimately arrested in 2017 on bogus charges. As one of her lawyers during her seven years of arbitrary detention, Dino worked tirelessly in her defense, even taking on the role of her official spokesperson and surrogate-representative for the 2022 re-election campaign for Senate, which she ran while she was in prison. In what Dino described as “the best day of my life as a human rights lawyer,” Leila de Lima was cleared of all criminal charges in June 2024. 

Giving Victims Hope in the Face of Fear 

The most rewarding part of Dino’s job is giving hope and justice to victims of human rights violations. “It felt like it was always a hopeless case for the victims of human rights atrocities by the Duterte administration. Either the police won’t properly act on complaints—or it’s the police who are the main perpetrators. So, when one human rights lawyer would listen to their story, that has a cathartic effect,” he explains. Though the work can be daunting, there is “fulfillment in giving them hope, maybe for the first time in many years.” The victories, too, are fulfilling. Litigation can take years in the Philippines, with Leila de Lima’s case taking close to seven years. “I was in the courtroom when they announced she was finally going free. That’s the most fulfilling day I had as a lawyer. I was so happy to have been a part of the case.”  

However, “the disbelief that the system tolerates these kinds of atrocities” is the most difficult part of Dino’s work. With the Duterte case, “almost no one wanted to fight back even though they were more senior and had a higher pedigree in the profession. Why was it that a younger lawyer like me seemed to be left with only a few brethren in the profession who were willing to fight, and in the process, potentially risk our careers? It is frustrating that people are allowing these violations, perpetrating it themselves, don’t care, or are too afraid.” 

The Qualities Necessary for a Human Rights Lawyer 

Dino highlighted three qualities that are important to his work in human rights law and advocacy. First, it is important to recognize a lawyer’s role as a representative of his client and not as a guardian. Dino explains, “It is important to empower your clients to make the best decision for themselves, and to treat them with respect and dignity.” Second, Dino emphasizes resourcefulness and the importance of “being strategic in every move that you make, because you have limited resources versus the unlimited resources of the state.” Finally, human rights lawyers must have grit. “Treat the case like a marathon, not a sprint. No matter how clear the case is, it is not going to be an easy battle, and you will lose a lot of the battles. But focus on the main war, which is to secure justice for the victims.”  

Dino gives his all for each case at every stage of a proceeding, even knowing he will likely lose, because it means the arguments are on the record, and maybe one day, the political landscape will shift. “Justice might not be received by the victim in his lifetime,” but there may be a kind of justice in the future through recognition. Moreover, Dino wants the next generation, when they read the case records, to know that “someone questioned these policies. We were not all silent.” 

Advice for New Human Rights Lawyers 

Dino cautions that human rights work can be “taxing and not financially rewarding,” therefore, he recommends that lawyers have activities outside of this work that bring them joy. Dino himself works at his firm and franchising business, and he also focuses on his spirituality and prayer. “You need other places where you can count success and have some fulfillment outside of human rights work because sometimes when human rights work needs you the most, there’s no immediate success to be derived from it.” It is also important for human rights lawyers to have courage. “Courage is not the absence of fear but having the will to face such fear.”  

Dino values his connection to Georgetown. “I chose Georgetown above all the other law schools because of its involvement in political law and human rights work,” Dino says. “I’m just happy that I’m part of the Georgetown community.” 

Written by Sabrina Lourie, edited by Michelle Liu.