Human rights lawyer Jose Manuel 'Chel' Diokno has reiterated his position that those behind the thousands of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) must be held accountable as he condemned the killing of Pampanga-based journalist Jesus Malabanan.

Diokno, who is seeking a Senate seat in next year’s polls, said the fatal incident was “clearly a result of the culture of impunity and the lack of accountability under the Duterte government.”

The veteran lawyer strongly condemned the “senseless killing” of Malabanan, a Manila Times correspondent who was gunned down by unidentified assailants inside his store in Calbayog City, Samar last week.

Malabanan, 58, was the latest journalist to be killed following the death of Davao del Sur journalist Orlando Dinoy in October this year.

His death is the 22nd on the list of killed journalists under the Duterte Administration based on reports, according to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).

READ: CHR to do own investigation on killing of veteran journo in Samar

Diokno said accountablity must be enforced among those involved in the thousands of deaths in the bloody war on drugs.

“Maraming-maraming pamilya ang naghahanap ng hustisya. Gusto nilang malaman kung papaano ba napatay iyong kanilang mahal sa buhay (Many families are seeking justice. They want to know how their loved ones were killed). There must be accountability for these events,” he said in a recent television interview.

Diokno added the CHR must “properly funded and has enough plantilla personnel” so it can effectively perform its mandate under the 1987 Constitution.

The senatorial aspirant also wants to institutionalize the policy of former President Fidel V. Ramos requiring uniformed personnel to first obtain clearance from the CHR before they are appointed or promoted.

“Sa ngayon, ginagawa ito ng CHR pero wala itong ngipin dahil wala ngang batas na nagtatakda nito. Mas maganda na gawan natin ito ng batas upang matiyak na walang kaso ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao ang ating mga sundalo at mga pulis (Right now, the CHR is doing this but it has no teeth because of the absence of law. It would be better to pass a law to ensure our soldiers and policemen will not commit human rights violations),” said Diokno.

Diokno is the current head of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), a group that provides free legal aid to victims of abuse and poor Filipinos.