MANILA - Strengthening the Philippine justice system will be the priority of human rights lawyer Jose Manuel "Chel" Diokno should he win a Senate seat next year.

Diokno said he wants to strengthen the country's justice system, which would impact other sectors of society which need improvements.

"If you think about it, everything does revolve around the justice system. You talk about food, you talk about jobs, freedom, it all boils down to how well the justice system is working," he told ANC's "Beyond Politics."

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv

"It's a campaign out to regain human dignity," he added.

One of the reforms Diokno mentioned is amending the Witness Protection Program.

He explained that an amendment to the current program should be made so that a hearing can be held within six months after whistleblowers are admitted to the program.

Within that period, people implicated by the whistleblower should be notified, and the testimony of the whistleblower perpetuated so that the whistleblower can move on with his or her life.

"Many of them [whistleblowers] just end up leaving the program. It's just a waste of public funds. Why? Because we don't have a mechanism for perpetuating their testimony," he said.

Diokno, founding dean of the De La Salle University College of Law, added that a clearance from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) should also be made mandatory for policemen and soldiers who are up for promotion.

The move, according to Diokno, can serve as a "deterrent" to human rights violations.

Diokno is one of 10 children of the late senator and CHR founding chair Jose "Pepe" Diokno.

On Tuesday, he filed his certificate of candidacy for senator and will be running under the opposition Liberal Party.

"If people vote for me, they will see something new, a fresh wind, someone willing to speak the truth," he said.

• Chel Diokno joins Senate race