Former Senate President Franklin Drilon said that the Supreme Court’s intervention in the impeachment case involving Vice President Sara Duterte would be a major test of the extent of judicial power under the Constitution. 

Speaking during the launch of his memoir Being Frank at the University of the Philippines College of Law’s Alumni Weekend, Drilon said the case would help define how far the high court may step into impeachment proceedings, which he described as a political proceeding assigned to Congress. 

“The intervention of the Supreme Court in the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte presents an interesting study on the limits of the court’s intervention on what is known or considered as a political question,” Drilon said. 

The launch was attended by former Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, UP Law Dean Gwen Grecia-De Vera, faculty members, alumni and students. 

Drilon, who sat as a senator-judge in two impeachment trials during his 24-year career in the Senate, said the case would help define the extent to which the court may use its power to correct grave abuse of discretion in an impeachment case. 

“To what extent the Supreme Court will invoke its constitutional power to correct grave abuse of discretion in the political process involving the impeachment of Vice President Duterte will be an interesting study for all of us,” Drilon said. 

“We hope that the Supreme Court will come out with a decision which should be generally accepted as a basis for our legal system,” he added. 

The memoir was co-published by the University of the Philippines Law Alumni Foundation Inc.. Drilon donated proceeds from book sales during the launch to the foundation. 

Drilon also used the event to urge law students to pursue principle over prestige. 

“The temptation to view the law as a mere career — a pathway to prestige or profit — is persistent,” he said. “But your education here in Diliman demands more of you.” 

He emphasized: “It demands that you be honest with yourselves and with the nation. As I have learned over the course of my career, the most difficult battles are not won through volume, but through the steady, relentless application of principle.”  

Reflecting on the memoir, Drilon said writing the book gave him a chance to think about legacy.

“A legacy is not found in the titles we held or the trophies on our shelves,” he said. “It is found in the institutions we strengthened and the young minds we inspired to take up the mantle of leadership.” 

“My hope is that by sharing my journey—unfiltered and, as the title suggests, frank—you might find some guidance for your own.” 

Being Frank traces Drilon’s decades in public life, including his years as labor secretary, justice secretary, executive secretary, senator and Senate president, offering personal reflections on some of the most consequential political episodes in recent Philippine history. 

“Being Frank” is now available at https://beingfrank.drilon.com.