Atty. Jose Sison, host of 'Ipaglaban Mo,' dies at 88
Lawyer and television host Jose Sison, best known for anchoring the long-running legal drama anthology “Kung May Katwiran, Ipaglaban Mo,” has died at the age of 88.
His son, lawyer Joseph Peter “Jopet” Sison, confirmed his father’s death in a Facebook post on Thursday, July 23, 2026.
“This morning, July 23, 2026, our Papa Ping peacefully joined our Creator,” Joseph Peter wrote. “We are comforted that he lived a full life as a lawyer, a husband to Josie, a father to his six children, and a grandfather to his sixteen grandchildren.”
The family also announced the details of the wake and burial arrangements. It will be held at the Ascension Chapel of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Cubao beginning Friday afternoon, July 24. His interment is scheduled for Tuesday, July 28, at Heaven’s Gate 1 Memorial Park in Antipolo City.
Sison became a familiar face on Philippine television as the host of “Kung May Katwiran, Ipaglaban Mo,” a legal drama anthology that featured dramatized accounts of real-life cases and explored issues involving justice, family disputes, and the law.
He hosted the program from 1988 to 2000 and returned as its anchor from 2014 to 2020. His son, Jopet, later joined him on the show and eventually became its host during its final run from 2014 to 2020.
The program first aired on the now-defunct IBC-13 before moving to ABS-CBN, where it became one of the network’s most recognized public service-oriented shows.
Apart from his television career, Sison was a respected lawyer who used his legal expertise to make discussions about the law more accessible to the Filipino public.
His passing marks the end of an era for one of the country’s most recognizable legal personalities on television, whose work helped bridge the gap between the justice system and ordinary viewers.