Theodore O. "Ted" Te is a Filipino human rights lawyer, professor, and former Spokesperson of the

Supreme Court of the Philippines The Supreme Court (; colloquially referred to as the ' (also used in formal writing), is the highest court in the Philippines. It was established by the Taft Commission on June 11, 1901, through the enactment of Act No. 136, which abolished th ...

during the tenure of Chief Justice

Maria Lourdes Sereno Maria Lourdes "Meilou" Aranal-Sereno (; born Maria Lourdes Punzalan Aranal; July 2, 1960) is a Filipina lawyer and judge who served as de facto chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 2012 until 2018. Appointed as an asso ...

. He resigned on the position after Sereno was ousted. A lawyer of the

Free Legal Assistance Group The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) is a nationwide organization of human rights lawyers in the Philippines. It was founded in 1974 by Senate of the Philippines, Sen. Jose W. Diokno, Lorenzo Tañada, J.B.L. Reyes, and Joker Arroyo during th ...

(FLAG) and also its Regional Coordinator of FLAG Metro Manila, he is notable for serving as counsel for Leo Echegaray who was sentenced to the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

, as well as

Rappler Rappler (portmanteau of the words "rap" and "ripples") is a Mass media in the Philippines, Filipino online news website based in Pasig, Metro Manila, the Philippines. It was founded by 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and convicted cyberlibelist ...

founder and

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

recipient

Maria Ressa Maria Angelita Ressa (; born Maria Angelita Delfin Aycardo on October 2, 1963) is a Filipino and American journalist. She is the co-founder and CEO of Rappler. She previously spent nearly two decades working as a lead investigative reporter in ...

Early life and education

Te was born in Davao City, Southern Philippines. He graduated with a degree in psychology from the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

, where he was involved in the student movement opposing tuition fee increases. In 1990, he received his law degree from the

University of the Philippines College of Law The University of the Philippines College of Law (often referred to as UP Law) is the law school of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Formally established in 1911 in UP Manila, it is the third oldest continually-operating law school ...

. As a law student, he was already involved with the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) and was vice chairperson of the

Philippine Law Journal The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...

. He passed the bar examination on the same year. In 2012, he finished his master's in law degree from Columbia University Law School.

Legal career

Te began private practice and volunteered for the

(FLAG). In 1997, he co-founded the law firm ''Sanidad, Abaya, Te, Enriquez, & Tan''. He served as Vice President for Legal Affairs of the

. He is also an Assistant Professor and former director of the Office of Legal Aid at the

. In 2025, he was appointed as interim chair of FLAG.

Awards

In 2002, Te received the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the Philippines Award for Legal Aid and Human Rights.

References

Living people 21st-century Filipino lawyers Year of birth missing (living people) {{Philippines-law-bio-stub