As a human rights lawyer, Diokno successfully petitioned the Supreme Court (SC) to issue its first writ of amparo for Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo, who were allegedly tortured by the military under the Arroyo government on the suspicion that they were communist rebels. He has also won the release of the "Tagaytay 5" farmers, who were allegedly illegally detained on suspicion of being New People’s Army guerrillas.