Escaping ignorance, Valdez finds voice in the law

At 16, Amado Valdez boarded a bus alone, leaving behind the strict household of his youth in the Ilocos Region. He wasn’t running from home — he was running toward a future.

“I ran away from ignorance in pursuit of knowledge,” Valdez said in an exclusive interview on DAILY TRIBUNE’s Straight Talk. 

“That was the bravest and best decision I made.”

Today, the former dean of the University of the East College of Law and constitutional law expert stands as one of the most respected legal minds in the country.

But his journey began with fear, freedom, and eventually, faith — not just in himself, but in the law.

“I thought I was all alone in Manila,” he said. 

“But I later discovered my father was quietly watching over me. There was a guardian angel following everything I did.”

He first took up a Bachelor of Architecture as his pre-law course — an unusual path to jurisprudence — and eventually earned his law degree. 

“That was my passport to where I am now,” he said.

Valdez’s name would become forever linked to one of the most consequential events in Philippine political history: the impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada in 2000. As one of the five original private prosecutors in the case, Valdez found himself at the center of a constitutional and moral storm.

And at the heart of that storm? A mysterious envelope.

“I was the one who received the envelope because no one else wanted to,” he recalled. 

“There was so much drama. And when the Senate voted not to open it, the public erupted. You could no longer stop the people from going to the streets.”

Valdez later confronted Estrada about the envelope, which was rumored to contain damaging evidence but had never been opened.

“I asked him, ‘Mr. President, why didn’t you insist it be opened?’ He said, ‘I let my lawyers handle it.’”

The mystery proved subsequently to be all hype as the sealed packet did not produce incriminating evidence.

The Senate court’s 11-10 vote on 16 January 2001, to suppress the envelope’s opening led to a walkout by prosecutors and sparked the EDSA II protests, which ultimately forced Estrada’s ouster.

To Valdez, that moment was not just about legal strategy — it was about trust.

“There was a growing popularity for Erap back then, survey after survey,” he said. 

“But that envelope — that lack of transparency — was what broke it. That changed everything.”

More than two decades later, Valdez finds himself once again watching history unfold. This time, it’s the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, and he sees echoes of the past.

“The Vice President has to be very transparent when she defends herself,” Valdez said. 

“There are questions about expenses, and she needs to respond.”

Now in his 70s, Valdez is measured and deliberate, but not afraid to speak plainly, especially when it comes to the lessons of impeachment.

He believes this new complaint is not just about legal accountability, but about how the public will judge the character of the nation’s leaders.

“Maybe we may not get a vote of conviction,” he said. 

“But in the mind of the people, they will have their judgment.”

Modern version of sealed envelope

Valdez also raised what he called the “new envelope” in today’s political narrative: former President Rodrigo Duterte.

“The big X factor is still President Digong (Rodrigo Duterte). Whether he’s acquitted or not, the sympathy will always be there,” he said. 

“And that will affect Sara. But she is not her father. She’s not a copy of him, and she won’t be as good as him when she becomes president.”

It’s a stark assessment, but one Valdez sees as necessary — both for Sara Duterte and for the country’s future.

“They should be careful not to overemphasize the battering of Sara,” he added. 

“Because perception can be more powerful than fact.”

From the second envelope to the evolving battle for 2028, Valdez sees a nation repeatedly brought to the edge of political crisis — and opportunity. And through it all, he remains firm in his belief that the Constitution and public conscience are the ultimate arbiters.

At 79, he reflects not only on his legal career but on the moment he decided to leave home in search of something more.

“I thought I was alone,” Valdez said. “But all the while, someone was watching over me. And I never stopped searching for truth, for meaning, and for what is right.”