Franklin Drilon

Franklin Magtunao Drilon (born November 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and former politician.

Drilon was born on November 28, 1945, in Iloilo City, Iloilo and is the eldest son of Cesar Drilon Sr. and Primitiva Magtunao.

He took his elementary education at the Baluarte Elementary School in Molo, Iloilo City, and graduated in 1957.

He finished his secondary education at the U.P. - Iloilo College (now University of the Philippines High School in Iloilo) in 1961.

In college, he went to the University of the Philippines Diliman (U.P.) where he received his Bachelor of Arts Political Science degree in 1965.

At U.P., he was the associate editor of the student newspaper Philippine Collegian and served as councilor of the U.P. Student Council.

Among his classmates were future politicians Miriam Defensor Santiago and Ronaldo Zamora.

He placed third in the 1969 Bar Exams and worked as a private practice lawyer before joining the government.

In 1969, he completed his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) at the University of the Philippines College of Law in UP Diliman.

He placed 3rd in the 1969 Philippine Bar Examinations with an 86.85% bar rating.

In the same year, he served as an associate lawyer of Sycip, Salazar, Luna, Manalo & Feliciano Law Offices (now SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan).

He moved to Angara, Abello, Concepcion, Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALaw) in 1974, where he still serves as Senior Counsel.

ACCRALaw elevated him to partner in 1975, co-managing partner in 1981 and managing partner in 1986.

Drilon was also a Bar Examiner on Labor and Social Legislation in the 1979 and 1984 bar examinations.

He also became the vice-president and governor of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) and the vice-president, Board member and treasurer of the Personnel Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP).

Drilon served the government and public corporations through the following positions:

As Justice Secretary, Drilon was instrumental in the prosecution and conviction of Mayor Antonio Sanchez of Calauan, Laguna, who masterminded the rape-slaying of a UP Los Baños coed and the murder of his friend; and Claudio Teehankee Jr., who was figured in the gun slaying of Maureen Hultman.

Both cases ended up in convictions.

In 1992, most of the Aquino cabinet were drafted for the Senate candidate line-up of the newly created party, Lakas Tao; Drilon opted to help President Aquino finish her term.

He had the longest tenure in the Senate of the Philippines (tied with Lorenzo Tañada and Tito Sotto), having served four non-consecutive terms overall: from 1995 to 2007 and 2010 to 2022.

He was again given the opportunity to run as a senatorial candidate of the Lakas–Laban coalition in the 1995 election.

He got the fourth highest number of votes in that Senate race.

In 1998, he bolted Lakas and joined the Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino (LAMMP) and supported Joseph Estrada in the presidency contest.

He was selected as Senate Majority Floor Leader the same year.

In 1999, he was among those who voted in favor of the ratification of the Visiting Forces Agreement.

When Marcelo Fernan died of cancer the same year, he made concessions with Blas Ople in sharing the seat of the Senate President.

They agreed that Ople will serve as Senate President from 1999 to 2000 and he would serve from 2000 to 2001.

He has served thrice as president of the Senate: in 2000, from 2001 to 2006, and from 2013 to 2016.

Having also served as Senate president pro tempore, Senate Majority Leader, and Senate Minority Leader, he is the only senator to have held all four of the Senate's major leadership positions.

Ople served his term from July 1999-July 2000.

Drilon was installed as Senate President in July 2000.

In October 2000 he issued a statement about the Juetengate Scandal of President Joseph Estrada.

In December 2000, an impeachment case was filed against President Estrada in the Senate.

During the January 13, 2001, session of the impeachment proceedings, he was one of those who voted in favor of the opening of a mysterious second bank envelope.

Their vote was outnumbered and Drilon was remembered as the Senator who cried in front of Senate President Pimentel together with Senator Loren Legarda, as impeachment lawyers walked out of the session hall in protest.

A member of the Liberal Party since 2003, he has previously led the party as president, chairman, and vice-chairman.

He also served as Secretary of Labor and Employment, Secretary of Justice, and Executive Secretary in the administration of President Corazon Aquino.

He became Secretary of Justice again during the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos.

Drilon was born and raised in Iloilo City and studied law at the University of the Philippines.

He was removed the next month through a Senate revamp and Aquilino Pimentel Jr. was installed as Senate President (Drilon would also be succeeded by his son Aquilino Pimentel III as Senate President in 2016).