As the Senate prepares to try Vice President Sara Duterte on July 6, the veteran of two impeachment trials says the greatest danger is not acquittal but the perception that the truth is being hidden.
MANILA — Former Senate President Franklin Drilon has warned that any move to conceal evidence in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte could provoke a public backlash on the scale of the 2001 uprising that ousted President Joseph Estrada — a warning issued days before the Senate impeachment court resumed its pre-trial conference on Monday, June 22, with most of the prosecution's evidence still unmarked and several explosive documents still sealed.
Drilon, who sat as a senator-judge in two impeachment trials over his 24 years in the Senate, said in a statement reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on June 21 that "the greatest risk" facing the country is the possible failure of the impeachment process. He drew a direct line to the so-called "second envelope" that ended Estrada's trial.
"That prompted an instability which resulted in the change of government. That is what we have to look out for. That is what our senators should be conscious about," Drilon said. "The people would not stand for hiding the truth. In an impeachment trial, the public would like to know the truth, and attempts to hide the truth will not be accepted by our people."
The evidence still under wraps
Drilon's warning lands at a concrete moment. According to the Inquirer, when the pre-trial conference opened on June 18, the parties managed to finish marking evidence for only one of the four articles of impeachment — Article III, which covers bribery, graft and corruption, violation of the Constitution, and betrayal of public trust. Defense spokesperson Michael Poa told reporters the marking "is not really that fast" because documents must be compared, and said the conference would resume June 22, with both sides prepared to return June 24 if needed. He maintained the July 6 trial date remains feasible.
Among the documents that lawmakers cited during the House proceedings, the Inquirer reported, are the statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) of Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio; Commission on Audit notices of disallowance; an authenticated video of an alleged assassination threat; and Anti-Money Laundering Council reports showing 663 covered and suspicious transactions amounting to P6.77 billion — P4.4 billion in inflows and P1.5 billion in outflows — which lawmakers said appeared inconsistent with Duterte's disclosures. A sealed and unopened box from the Bureau of Internal Revenue, containing the tax returns of Duterte, Carpio and their companies, remains unexamined; the House justice committee deferred opening it, leaving its contents for the Senate trial.
Because impeachment proceedings are exempt from bank secrecy protections, the Senate court may examine financial records that are ordinarily shielded. Lawmakers have pointed out that Duterte declared no cash on hand or in bank in her SALNs from 2019 to 2024 even as her net worth rose to P88.5 million in 2024 from P55.6 million in 2019.
Civil society demands transparency
The concern is not Drilon's alone. Cleve Arguelles, convener and spokesperson of the poll-monitoring coalition Bantay Senado, told the Inquirer his group is worried about "any action that undermines the truth-seeking function" of the trial — "whether through the suppression of documents, refusal to present relevant evidence, procedural maneuvers, or efforts to limit transparency." He argued that the most important outcome "is not necessarily the confirmation of any particular allegation but the public clarification of unresolved questions."
The defense, for its part, has signaled it may keep Duterte herself off the stand. House Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V said on June 20 that her possible non-attendance — as she did in the aborted 19th Congress proceedings — would constitute a "strategy," but argued that someone seeking the presidency or vice presidency "has an obligation to the public to answer." Senate Secretary Renato Bantug confirmed on June 21 that the chamber remains on track for a July 6 start, with security, media accommodations and room assignments being finalized.
Context: the ghost of Edsa 2
Drilon's reference is precise. During Estrada's 2001 trial, senator-judges voted 11-10 against opening a second envelope believed to contain evidence of a P3.3-billion secret bank account under the alias "Jose Velarde." Drilon was among the 10 who voted to open it. The prosecution walked out in protest, mass protests erupted, and the "Edsa 2" uprising forced Estrada from Malacañang within days, elevating then-Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Drilon noted that in the social media era, it is far harder for lawmakers to shape public opinion — raising the stakes for a Senate that spent five weeks paralyzed by a leadership war before electing Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate President on June 17.
Duterte stands accused of misusing P612.5 million in confidential funds, bribing Department of Education officials to circumvent procurement rules, amassing unexplained wealth, and threatening to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez assassinated. She has denied wrongdoing; her June 1 reply to the articles, prosecutors have said, offered procedural arguments rather than a point-by-point rebuttal. As of this writing, the Office of the Vice President had not issued a substantive response to Drilon's remarks.
Sources
- Gillian Villanueva, "Drilon warns vs 'second envelope' crisis in VP trial," Philippine Daily Inquirer, June 21, 2026 — https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2249755/drilon-warns-vs-second-envelope-crisis-in-vp-trial
- Zacarian Sarao, "Sara Duterte impeachment pre-trial conference to resume Monday, June 22," INQUIRER.net, June 18, 2026 — https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2248742/sara-duterte-impeachment-pre-trial-conference-to-resume-on-monday-june-22
- Dianne Sampang, "Solon: Duterte's possible absence in impeachment trial can be a strategy," INQUIRER.net, June 20, 2026 — https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2249569/solon-dutertes-possible-absence-in-impeachment-trial-can-be-a-strategy
- "Senate on track for July 6 start of Sara Duterte's impeachment trial – Bantug," INQUIRER.net, June 21, 2026 — https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2249605/senate-on-track-for-july-6-start-of-vp-sara-impeachment-trial-bantug