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Neri Javier Colmenares (, born December 4, 1959) is a Filipino legislator, human rights lawyer and activist. He was an associate of the Asian Law Centre at Melbourne Law School when he was completing his Ph.D. in law on "The Writ of Amparo and the International Criminal Court." He also lectured at the University of Melbourne on International Human Rights Law and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Colmenares was the party-list representative for Bayan Muna in the Philippine House of Representatives from 2009 to 2016, and was the senior deputy leader of the minority bloc. He was an aspirant in the 2016, 2019, and 2022 Philippine Senate elections, where he was part of the 1Sambayan Senate slate, but was defeated in all three runs. On December 4, 2024, Colmenares and 74 others filed the second impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, citing betrayal of public trust for her office's alleged misuse of confidential funds.
In 1983 he shifted to Cagayan Valley to become a youth organizer there. After five months of organizing work in Cagayan Valley, he was arrested by military agents and charged with 'rebellion.' In total, Colmenares was jailed and was tortured in captivity for four years. Atty. William F. Claver stood as his legal counsel. Colmenares was one of the youngest political prisoners at the time. Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares Neri Colmenares On Torture, a Human Rights Code and Movie Acting' Neri Colmenares On Torture, a Human Rights Code and Movie Acting, part 2
While in detention during martial law, he would play chess blindfolded against jail guards.
In 2015, Colmenares was the director of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and chair its of its grassroots and development committee. He has been the vice president of the NCFP as of 2022.
He lectures in Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) seminars and in various universities on the Writ of Amparo, Habeas Data, The International Criminal Court and International Humanitarian Law, Oral Advocacy, Constitutional Amendment and the Chacha Cases, Judicial and Congressional Jurisprudence on Impeachment, The Party List Law: Jurisprudence of the Supreme Court and the Commission on Elections (Comelec), The Constitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Law (Human Security Act), Whistleblowers and the Freedom of Information Law and other current legal and constitutional issues.
He acted as counsel of the seven impeachment complaints in the House of Representatives of the Philippines and was one of the prosecutors in the impeachment trial of Merceditas Navarro Gutierrez in the Philippine Senate, prosecuting mainly the fertilizer scam case and the euro generals case. He was one of the prosecutors in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, who was convicted by the Senate for Betrayal of Public Trust.
He is involved in constitutional legal issues, having acted as counsel and argued before the Supreme Court in oral arguments on the constitutionality of Executive Order 464, the petition against the Emergency Rule Proclamation 1017, the calibrated preemptive response (CPR) policy, the charter Change initiative to amend the Constitution, the petition to disqualify major political parties in the party list system, on the constitutionality of the Visiting Forces Agreement (the Subic Rape Case) and the oral arguments on the petition he filed against the First Party Rule which resulted in Supreme Court decision filling up of all the party list seats in Congress.
On September 23, 2021, Colmenares announced that he will be running for senator in 2022. He filed his candidacy on October 7. However, he lost the election for the third straight time.
He again questioned Meralco's plans to raise electricity rates in 2019 and accused power companies of passing on to consumers the cost of shortages they themselves caused.
Colmenares questioned the Philippines' Chico River irrigation loan agreement with China in 2019. He joined fellow lawmakers in petitioning the Supreme Court in stopping the Chinese-funded project.
Colmenares served as counsel for lawmakers who in January 2018 filed for the suspension of the TRAIN Law. He also noted how the TRAIN Law was passed in Congress without a quorum.
He authored the Social Security System (SSS) Pension Increase bill, which was later implemented under Pres. Rodrigo Duterte who ordered a P1,000 per month increase in SSS pension in two tranches. Colmenares and Bayan Muna worked to have the second P1,000 increase in 2018.
He authored the bills and resolutions on making annulment of marriage accessible to the poor, increasing SSS pension to P7,000, investigating high prices of gasoline in the provinces, and blind-friendly Philippine peso bills.
He was a member of the Committee on Rules.
He was associate editor of the World Bulletin of the UP Law Center on the issue of international crimes.
| + Electoral history of Neri Colmenares ! rowspan="2" style="background:#eaecf0;" | Year ! rowspan="2" style="background:#eaecf0;" | Office ! colspan="2" rowspan="2" style="background:#eaecf0;" | Party ! colspan="4" style="background:#eaecf0;" | Votes received ! rowspan="2" style="background:#eaecf0;" | Result |
He played key roles in high-profile legal cases and political trials, notably serving as a prosecutor in the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona and the impeachment of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. Additionally, he has argued significant cases before the Supreme Court, including those questioning the constitutionality of key government actions, such as the Visiting Forces Agreement, party-list representation rules, and emergency powers under President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Colmenares has also held prominent leadership positions in legal advocacy groups, including serving as president and secretary general of the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL). He has been a consistent advocate for human rights, social justice, and legal reforms through both his legal work and public engagements.
Colmenares began his career at the National Amnesty Commission, serving as a private secretary from November 1996 to January 1997, and again from January to September 1997. He then became the commission's legal officer from October 1997 to May 1998, and then became its attorney from January to September 1998 and again from May to September 1999. In September 1999, he became the General Counsel for the partylist Bayan Muna, a position he held until 2009. From March 2004 to March 2006, Colmenares also served as a consultant to the office of Representative Satur Ocampo.
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