Drilon mulling return to private law practice

After almost 21 years in government service, Sen. Franklin Drilon is reportedly planning to go back to private practice once his term ends in June.

Sources close to Drilon said the senator – who is finishing his second and last term in the Senate – might rejoin the Angara, Abello, Concepcion, Regala, and Cruz (ACCRA) law office.

"He has plans to go back to ACCRA," the source said.

Drilon shelved plans to run for a congressional seat in his hometown in Iloilo City, which was also the site for the first provincial grand proclamation of the Genuine Opposition senatorial bets last Feb. 28. The GO rally was canceled reportedly after the local government failed to gather a sizable audience for the GO candidates who arrived for the main event.

The camp of Iloilo Gov. Niel Tupas, a known supporter of Drilon, had announced that massive security threats prompted the cancellation.

Drilon’s staff confirmed that the former Senate president is not running for any local seat in his hometown. "He just wants to help civil society, get himself involved in NGO-work… and spend more time with his family," one of Drilon’s staff members said.

Drilon will leave for abroad on March 8 until the last week of the month.

Drilon, currently the Liberal Party (LP) president, will also be busy campaigning for partymates Tarlac Rep. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, who is seeking a Senate seat, and Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who is running for a second term.

Drilon has been vocal against the Arroyo administration after he severed ties with President Arroyo on July 8, 2005 at the height of the "Hello, Garci" controversy.

He led members of the LP in calling for Mrs. Arroyo’s resignation. The move caused the party to split.

Drilon’s call coincided with other calls for the President’s resignation, notably by resigned Cabinet members who became known as the "Hyatt 10" and former President Corazon Aquino.

Drilon placed third in the Bar exams in 1969.

He worked for four months at the Ledesma, Saludo and Associates, then joined Sycip, Salazar, Luna, Manalo & Feliciano Law Offices as associate lawyer for four years. The prestigious ACCRA law firm accepted Drilon to be part of its staff.

It was also in ACCRA that Drilon and first wife Violy Calvo met and fell in love.

He retired in 1986 as managing partner to join the government.

Drilon’s first stint in government service was in 1986 when then President Aquino tapped him to become deputy minister of labor. A few months later he was appointed secretary of the Labor Department.

Drilon was drafted by the Lakas-Laban coalition in the 1995 senatorial elections, placing fourth in his first attempt at national politics. Running under the slogan "Kontra krimen, justice agad!" Drilon served as the voice of millions of hapless and dispossessed citizens yearning for justice.

During the campaign, Drilon would often fly to the US to be with his wife Violy, who was then being treated for lung cancer. Violy died in September 1995, two months after her husband assumed his Senate seat.

In memory of his wife, the senator set up the Violeta Calvo-Drilon Foundation to continue her charitable work. Its anchor project is the School Milk Feeding Program, which distributes free milk to Grade 1 pupils in public schools throughout the country.

Drilon later married a good family friend, Mila Serrano-Genuino.