MANILA – “It is my privilege and honor to have served you and our beloved nation for most of my life. It is with immense gratitude and profound pride that the gentleman from Iloilo, for the last time, yields the Senate floor.”
Ilonggo senator Franklin Drilon on Wednesday formally bade farewell to the Senate, the chamber he had served for 24 years, highlighted by serving as Senate President four times.
During the traditional valedictory address for outgoing senators, the 76-year-old Drilon said it was time for him to call it quits after being in public service for almost three decades.
He also pointed out that to date, “I am the only Drilon who holds an elective position in government. I am fully aware that public service is not something I can bequeath to my children or my relatives. It is both a responsibility and a privilege that is pro-actively chosen, out of a deep sense of duty and desire to serve, not out of entitlement or a birth right.”
“There is a time for everything. A time to work and a time to rest. After being in public life for more than 35 years, I am stepping back to my private space to spend more time for myself and with my loved ones,” said Drilon, a resident of Molo, Iloilo City.
What used to be “pockets of time” carved out of his schedule for family will now be replaced by what he said would be “unlimited time at home.”
“I will not say that I will be back again. I am at that stage in a man’s life where one no longer has grand dreams for himself, only memories. And you all will be in my memory,” the Ilonggo senator further said.
Drilon began his public service career in 1986 as Department of Labor and Employment secretary under the administration of President Corazon Aquino. He was eventually appointed as Department of Justice secretary and later as Executive Secretary.
A third placer in the 1969 Bar Examination, Drilon was once again reappointed as DOJ secretary by President Fidel Ramos before he started his career as a senator in 1995.
As a senator, Drilon was named Senate President from 2000 to 2006, and from 2013 to 2016 before serving as Senate Minority Leader since 2017.
“To be elected into office requires highlighting one’s achievements, self-promotion if you will. But I never let that fool me into believing that public service is about me or my name,” Drilon said.
“I am fully aware that public service is not something I can bequeath to my children or my relatives. It is both a responsibility and a privilege that is pro-actively chosen, out of a deep sense of duty and desire to serve, not out of entitlement or a birthright,” he added.
The Ilonggo lawmaker admitted he would miss the work of being a senator, passing legislations that have an impact on the Filipinos’ lives.
“I take pride in doing work that matters. The legacy that I wish to leave behind is written in between the lines of the laws I have authored. And so most of you know of what I have done, the pieces of legislation that I am particularly proud of,” Drilon said.
Among these were:
* Dual Citizenship Law or the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003
* Sin Tax Reform Law
* GOCC Governance Act of 2011
* amendments to the Public Service Act, Retail Trade Liberalization Act
* Foreign Investment Act
* Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act
* amendments to the Revised Penal Code
“For more than two decades, I did my share in the passage of measures whose impact would last beyond our lifetime. The laws I mentioned compose the body of work that defined my life as a legislator,” said Drilon.
He never subscribed to the practice of filing bills for the sole purpose of being a prolific legislator by sheer volume of bills filed.
“I chose to shepherd and associate myself with measures that I believed would bring much-needed, impactful reforms,” he said.
The Ilonggo senator also recalled during his first term as a senator in 1995, he also felt starstruck with the veteran senators then but he worked his way to earned their respect.
“But it was also challenging and inspiring. And I knew that I must earn their respect before I can even consider myself as their equal. Respect begets respect,” Drilon said.
“Respect is earned, never imposed. And there was no better way to give respect to my peers and earn theirs, than going to work each day well-prepared,” he added.
Drilon was born and raised in Iloilo City and studied law at the University of the Philippines. He received his Doctor of Humanities (Honoris Causa) honorary degree from Central Philippine University.
A member of the Liberal Party since 2003, Drilon has been the party’s vice-chairman since 2011 and has previously served as the party’s chairman and president.
Drilon is a member of the Rotary Club, Makati Chapter. He was an active member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) where he was a former President of the Pasay–Makati–Mandaluyong–San Juan Chapter.
As a parting shot, Drilon challenged senators, including those who were elected in the just-concluded elections, to uphold the independence and democracy in the Senate.
“Democracy is the reason why we stand here today, all 24 independent republics, able to speak and disagree freely, able to do the duty we have been elected to fulfill. Let us never take it for granted,” Drilon concluded./PN
