Drilon says Senate shake-up tied to 2028 political positioning

Former Senate President Franklin Drilon said the recent Senate reorganization and political maneuvering surrounding the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte are all connected to preparations for the 2028 elections.

In an interview, Drilon said he was not surprised by the sudden developments in the Senate, including what some observers described as a political “coup,” saying he had already expected a reorganization to happen. However, he noted that the timing of the move was directly tied to the looming impeachment complaint against Duterte.

“I was not surprised. I was expecting a reorganization, although not yesterday,” Drilon said. “I know that all of this is rooted in the 2028 elections.”

Drilon said senators are already weighing the political implications of a possible impeachment trial against Duterte, especially if evidence against her becomes public during the proceedings.

“If there will be a trial, it will not be good for Sara Duterte because the evidence against her will be presented,” he said in Filipino, adding that the Senate reorganization was driven by political interests and alliances ahead of the next presidential race.

He also pointed out that the reorganization happened just before the impeachment complaint was scheduled to be transmitted to the Senate. According to Drilon, the votes supporting the move were carefully secured to ensure the reorganization would push through.

“If Sen. Bato dela Rosa did not come in, there would not have been 13 votes,” he said. “That is why they pushed for it to happen yesterday.”

Drilon described the incident as part of a broader power struggle inside the Senate, with several lawmakers already positioning themselves and their alliances for 2028.

The former Senate president also commented on the decisions of several senators during the reorganization. He said he understood why Migz Zubiri abstained from voting, citing political realities in Mindanao where Duterte continues to have strong support.

“I understood why Migz Zubiri abstained because he is from Mindanao, where Sara Duterte has a strong constituency,” he said.

Asked about the decisions of Loren Legarda and JV Ejercito, Drilon said he could only speculate on their motivations. On Legarda, he said one of the speculations involved the legal issues faced by her son, though he stressed he did not know the real reason behind her position.

Despite the negative reaction from some sectors following the Senate developments, Drilon said public sentiment could still change before the 2028 elections.

“In my experience, public sentiment changes quickly,” he said. “Many people are angry over what happened, but there are two sides to this. For the Duterte group, what happened was favorable for them because they did not want the impeachment trial to proceed immediately.”