Everything about Juan Ponce Enrile totally explained
Juan Ponce Enrile (born
February 14,
1924) is a political figure in the Philippines. Originally a protege of late dictator
Ferdinand Marcos he later became a leader in the
1986 People Power Movement that drove
President Ferdinand Marcos from power. He is a current
senator of the
Philippines.
Early life and career
Enrile was born in
Gonzaga,
Cagayan to the daughter of a poor fisherman. He was born out of wedlock--his father was the already married powerful regional politician and renowned lawyer Alfonso Enrile. In
1949, he graduated
cum laude with a degree of
Associate in Arts at the
Ateneo de Manila University. He took a degree of
Bachelor of Laws and graduated
cum laude at the
University of the Philippines College of Law. Upon graduation, he was elected to the prestigious
Pi Gamma Mu and
Phi Kappa Phi international honor societies. In the
1953 bar examinations, he ended up at the 11th highest score with a 91.72% rating and a perfect score in Taxation Law. He became a scholar at the
Harvard Law School where he earned the degree
Master of Laws with specialized training in International Tax.
He taught law at the
Far Eastern University and practiced as a partner in his father’s law firm before taking responsibility for then-senator Marcos’s personal legal affairs in
1964. After Marcos was elected president in
1965, Enrile became part of his inner circle.
Marcos' inner circle
From
1966 to
1968, he was the undersecretary and Acting Secretary of the Department of Finance. He concurrently became acting Insurance Commissioner and Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs. From
1968 to
1970, he became Secretary of the Department of Justice. In
1970, he was appointed Secretary of the Department of National Defense.
In
1972, one of Marcos' reasons for the declaration of martial law was terrorism. He cited the bombing of Enrile's car. In
1973, Enrile's title became Defense Minister. As Defense Minister, he presided the Executive Committee of the National Security Council, making him one of the prime architects of Marcos' martial rule.
As a requirement for his position as part of the cabinet under the parliamentary system, he ran and won as Assemblyman and represented Cagayan Valley for the Interim Batasang Pambansa in
1978.
People Power 'hero'
After opposition leader
Benigno Aquino, Jr. was assassinated in
1983, Enrile became fearful for his safety. As the Marcos dictatorship became increasingly unpopular, Enrile began aligning himself with dissident elements in the army, particularly the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM). Officers from this group, with Enrile’s support, moved to launch a coup d’état against Marcos in
February 1986. Marcos was alerted to the plot, and the conspirators took refuge in two military camps. From there, Enrile and
Fidel Ramos, the head of the Philippine Constabulary (now the Philippine National Police), rallied opponents against Marcos in a citizen revolt that became known as the
People Power Movement. At the same time, Enrile revealed details of the public deception he'd perpetuated while serving in Marcos’s government. This included being aware of fraudulent votes in the
1986 presidential election and faking an assassination attempt on his own life in 1972, which helped provide Marcos with the justification for declaring martial law. Enrile emerged as one of the perceived 'heroes' of the People Power Movement, although the reasons for his involvement with the movement were highly disputed. In the post-martial law era, rumors had spread that Ramos and Enrile were among the two think tanks in the assassination of "Ninoy" Aquino. It is alleged that in order not to be accused with the Marcoses, the two plotted a coup against the president.
Conflicts with Aquino
He served as minister of national defense under
Corazon Aquino, who replaced Marcos as president, but Enrile increasingly differed with Aquino. She forced Enrile to resign as defense minister in
November 1986. In
May 1987 he won election as one of two opposition members of the country’s 24-member
Senate (the other one is
Joseph Estrada). In
August 1987, a coup against Aquino escalated and it brought to the destruction of the Armed Forces headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo in
Quezon City. He was detained in a house-type quarters in Camp Aguinaldo over suspicion of planning the coup with
Gregorio Honasan. He was released days after due to lack of evidence.
Election bid
In
1992, Enrile predicted that he may end up losing the senatorial election or winning but only serving three years in office. Under the transitory provisions of the
1987 constitution, the first 12 candidates who receive the highest votes wins a 6 year term, the next 12 would only serve 3 years. He ran instead as
congressman. He won the election and represented the 1st District of
Cagayan. In
1995, he ran as independent for the second time as
senator under the
Lakas-
Laban coalition. He won and held the position until
2001. While active in his position as senator, he ran as an independent in the
1998 elections for the position of
President. He lost however to
Vice President Joseph Estrada.
EDSA II
In
January 13,
2001 he was one who voted against the opening of the second bank envelope. That vote led to the
second EDSA People Power Revolution that ousted
President Joseph Estrada. In
May 2001 he was indicted by the military for the investigation of the unsuccessful siege of the
Malacañang Palace by pro-Estrada forces. He was released a day after. He ran for
reelection as part of the
Puwersa ng Masa coalition. Due to the issues that haunted him during the failed siege, he lost the election.
2004 elections
In
2004 elections, he made a comeback bid for the Senate under the
Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP). He was actively opposing the imposition of the Purchased Power Adjustment (PPA) on the consumer's electric bills. Due to his exposé on the PPA and the
Supreme Court decision for a refund on electric bills, he received a positive response from the public and won the election. He became one of the senators who won the position in three non-consecutive terms.
Independent senator
He is affiliated with the
Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP). Technically he belongs to an opposition party, but at the Senate, he stands as independent and is part of the administration bloc. The minority bloc includes all of his party mates.
Personal life
Johnny, as what he was often called, is married to Cristina Castañer, a Spanish national. They have two children: Juan, Jr. and Katrina.
Juan Ponce Enrile, Jr. is currently a congressman representing the 1st District of
Cagayan.
Katrina Ponce Enrile is the current CEO of Jaka Group, Enrile's company. The Jaka group owns the Philippine Match Company, the Philippines leading
match maker. While
Arturo Enrile (1940-1998) is a former secretary of
Department of Transportation and Communications and he's cousin of Johnny.
One of the architects of martial law
Political writer Alexander Remollino cites Juan Ponce Enrile as one of the architects of martial law. In a TV interview in
1991, Enrile claimed, "I am the author of martial law." He had boasted in a number of media interviews of having himself issued a number of arrests, search and seize orders during the Marcos regime against oppositionists, including political figures, members of the media, student and labor activists, and members of left-wing groups. Whether these orders were also for torture and execution is being argued by both his friends and enemies alike.
Political writer and analyst Alfred McCoy in his speech, "
Dark Legacy: Human Rights Under the Marcos Regime" of
September 20 1999, said that because of the peculiar state of Philippine culture and politics, the country has been "
turning cronies into statesmen, torturers into legislators, and killers into generals."
(External Link
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On
August 21,
2007, (Aquino’s 24th death anniversary), Enrile stated that the case of the 14 soldiers incarcerated for 24 years now, due to the assassination of
Benigno Aquino, Jr. should be reviewed for clemency. Enrile paid for the legal services of the soldiers during their trial, and said the soldiers and their family have suffered enough. 15 soldiers of the Aviation Security Command were sentenced to double life imprisonment for the double murder of Aquino and his alleged lone communist gunman,
Rolando Galman, and one of them had died. They were all acquitted on December 1985, by the
Sandiganbayan' Manuel Pamaran, but the
Sandiganbayan's Regino C. Hermosisima, Jr., (promoted to
Supreme Court Justice and incumbent 3 termer
Judicial and Bar Council regular member) convicted them on Sept. 28, 1990.
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