Drilon warns Senate power struggle far from over amid impeachment

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

Former Senate President Franklin Drilon on Thursday warned that the election of Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate president may have settled the immediate leadership question in the chamber, but not the deeper political struggle that threatens to destabilize one of the country’s most important democratic institutions.

Speaking on ANC Headstart, Drilon described the current Senate as the most unstable he has seen since the restoration of democracy in 1986, citing an increasingly polarized political environment, the looming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, and maneuvering ahead of the 2028 presidential elections.

“I have never seen a Senate since 1986 more unstable than what we have today,” Drilon said.

The veteran lawmaker, who served 24 years in the Senate and eight and a half years as Senate president, noted that the chamber had just witnessed an unprecedented turnover in leadership.

“I don’t know, I may be wrong, but in the history of the Senate, this is the first time that we have a Senate President for two weeks after that he was changed,” he said. “For my eight years as Senate President, I was changed only four times. Here, after 21 days, we have a new President of the Senate.”

While extending his congratulations to Gatchalian, whom he described as possessing “all the qualities fitted for the job,” Drilon said the new Senate leader faces a challenge far greater than winning an election.

His task, Drilon said, is to stabilize an institution that remains deeply divided.

‘The bickering will not stop’

Drilon cautioned that the leadership change would not end the political infighting that has gripped the Senate in recent weeks.

“Let us not kid ourselves,” he said. “There will be a continuous struggle for the Senate presidency because of the impeachment and the 2028 election.”

According to Drilon, control of the Senate carries extraordinary significance because it will influence both the impeachment trial of the vice president and the broader political contest expected to culminate in the 2028 presidential race.

“The control of this institution would play a critical role as to who will control the country in 2028,” he said.

The former Senate president urged Gatchalian to strengthen the majority coalition by convincing at least one or two more senators to join its ranks.

Without a wider margin, he warned, the chamber could remain vulnerable to another leadership challenge.

“What is important for Senator Win and his group to do is add one or two more to provide some stability in the structure of the Senate, especially with the upcoming impeachment trial,” he said.

Drilon also appealed to his former colleagues not to lose sight of what he called their “higher calling.”

“Running the Senate today is the art of the possible,” he said. “But our friends in the Senate should not forget that there is a higher calling — the country, the national interest.”