Enrile makes one last visit to the Senate
MANILA, Philippines — Former senate president Juan Ponce Enrile made one last visit to the Senate for a necrological service on Wednesday, November 19.
Enrile mentored many sitting senators over past Congresses, including current Senate President Tito Sotto.
Sotto honored his mentor, saying Enrile’s influence extended well beyond the Senate, across Philippine history.
“He was a man who knew the cost of being a public servant. It’s impossible choices, it’s burdens. And frankly, it’s loneliness. However, he still chose to serve for six decades,” Sotto said.
“His place in history, perhaps will take time to steady ’till the pendulum of judgement by historians and the people will settle its final repose. He had personal, official and legal battles,” he added.
Estrada recalls family ties
Other senators also delivered tributes, including Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, another of Enrile’s mentees. Estrada recounted the closeness between their families, recalling how his father, former president Joseph Estrada, had accompanied Enrile to the National Bureau of Investigation in 1990. Enrile was arrested for an attempted coup against the late president Corazon Aquino.
In the days of the second EDSA revolution, Enrile later advised the elder Estrada during the second EDSA uprising to only sign the official statement prepared for him, warning not to sign anything that could be misconstrued as a resignation.
“That short but emphatic counsel proved vital. And it was one of the pillars upon which my father stood to show the nation that he was unjustly removed from office—that his departure from Malacañang was for no other reason than to avoid bloodshed,” Estrada said.
Arroyo: Enrile was respected by allies, rivals
The woman that replaced Joseph Estrada, former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, also attended the rites and honored Enrile. Despite their political history, Arroyo described Enrile as a “legend,” respected both by his friends and his enemies.
Arroyo recalled how during the Martial Law years, Enrile helped relay requests from former president Diosdado Macapagal to then-president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Arroyo and Enrile later served as senators together, and by the time Arroyo assumed the presidency, Enrile had become Senate president.
She said Enrile helped craft the proclamation declaring martial law in Maguindanao after the 2009 massacre.
A legacy of power, influence and controversy
Enrile left a profound imprint on Philippine politics, being one of the chief architects of Martial Law in the 1970s and later as one of the figures who made its end possible.
While politicians praised Enrile's intellect and enduring impact on the government, many human rights groups and Martial Law survivors offered no condolences.
Martial Law under Marcos Sr. saw 3,200 people killed, 32,000 tortured and 70,000 imprisoned.
Enrile will be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on November 22.
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