JPE's tell-all book

While the 15th Congress is still in recess, Senate president Juan Ponce-Enrile is kept busy reviewing and doing some finishing touches to his autobiography. Enrile has been working on this book for quite some time. It should be no wonder that the autobiography of Enrile — at 88 and man of the world that he is — is still a work in progress.

As of today, Enrile has counted 2,000 pages of the original manuscript in his laptop. He still has a lot more insights and reminiscences to include. But with so many pages already, Enrile is reviewing the manuscript to tighten editing. It is a good thing we have modern technology for easier cut and paste, save or delete here and there.

At his age, would you believe the Senate president is tech-savvy? This he demonstrated during the almost five months of the impeachment trial of erstwhile Chief Justice Renato Corona. Though already hard of hearing and no longer enjoying 20-20 vision, Enrile not once missed a beat.

Modern gadgets enabled the tech-savvy octogenarian Senate president to hear and see everything from the high desk where he presided the impeachment trial. He had a TV monitor for a full view of the entire floor while his earpiece was plugged to the microphone/audio. With his long years of legal practice and wide experience in legislation, Enrile single-handedly steered the impeachment trial.

At the end of the Senate impeachment trial, the Filipino nation saw for the first time the conviction and removal from office of a sitting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. And the rest, as we say, is history.

Enrile himself is a walking history book. When Enrile described some parts of his autobiography, it sounded like an account of modern-day Philippine history.

It seems like Philippine history from the point of view and perspective of Enrile, who wrote it down to the last detail. After all, he is the major character and player in many major events that took place and changed the past, present, and the future of our country.

Over lunch with members of Plaridel last Monday, Enrile shared some of the highlights of his autobiography. So far, he disclosed, he has completed three chapters.

The first chapter is all about his childhood memories. He was born Juanito Furagganan to Petra Furagganan, daughter of a poor fisherman in Gonzaga, Cagayan. Born out of wedlock — his father was the already married powerful politician and renowned lawyer Alfonso Ponce Enrile — he toiled his way all the way to high school.

When World War II broke out, the young Juanito joined the guerillas. “He was caught, imprisoned and tortured. He escaped, and at the end of the war, was serving in the US Quartermaster depot in Aparri, Cagayan. While the war was raging, his half sisters evacuated to Aparri and learned about Juanito. After the war, Juanito met his father in the latter’s law office in Binondo, Manila.

“Don Alfonso brought Juanito home to Malabon. He was given a new name, Juan Ponce Enrile. He resumed his high school education at the St. James Academy in Malabon.

“In 1947, he entered Ateneo de Manila graduating cum laude with an Associate in Arts Degree. In the UP, he graduated cum laude and salutatorian of UP Law Class 1953. He later passed the Bar Examinations placing 11th with a 91.72% rating and getting a perfect score in commercial law.

“He was offered a scholarship by the Harvard University where he earned a Master of Laws degree specializing in taxation and corporate reorganization. Returning to the Philippines, he joined the Ponce Enrile, Siguion Reyna, Montecillo, Bello Law Office where he emerged as a top corporate and litigation lawyer. He never lost a case.”

The second chapter of Enrile’s autobiography talked about his entry into public service until he first ended this in a resignation rejected by the late dictator. This unknown part of history took place following the assassination of the late Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. in August 1983.

Enrile first served in government when he acted as the personal legal affairs assistant of a then young Sen. Ferdinand Marcos in 1964 until the latter became Senate President. When Marcos ran and won his first presidential election, Enrile recalled he and a fellow lawyer Claudio Teehankee defended him in court in a number of cases from murder to electioneering charges. They won all the cases of Marcos.  

After Marcos was installed President in 1965, Enrile became part of his inner circle. Teehankee was later appointed as associate justice at the Supreme Court (SC).

In 1966, Enrile was appointed as Undersecretary of Finance, acting Insurance Commissioner of Customs and acting Chairman of the Monetary Board. In 1968-70 he served as Secretary of Justice. He was appointed Secretary of National Defense in 1970, a position he held for almost 17 years until 1986.

Ironically though both Enrile and Teehankee would later became thorns of Marcos after the latter’s re-election in the presidency and subsequently imposed martial law in the country.

As the immediate head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as Defense Minister, Enrile got wind of plots of generals to put up a military junta when Marcos’ failing health began to take its toll on the presidency. The plotters were planning to install the late dictator’s wife, former first lady Imelda Marcos, as head of the military junta for a few months but would later remove her. This plot, Enrile said, gave birth to the Reform the AFP Movement, or RAM.

But Marcos was falsely informed about the agenda of the Enrile-led RAM forces and ordered all of them arrested. Before they could be arrested, the February 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution took place and the late dictator was ousted from office. It was Teehankee who would later administer the oath of office of the late President Corazon Aquino.

The third chapter of Enrile’s autobiography, he says, would start from his first becoming Senate president from November 2008 all the way to the end of the Corona impeachment trial.

When we pressed for the gory details of this chapter, Enrile teased us, saying we have to buy the tell-all book when it comes out later this year.