Juan Ponce Enrile, architect of Philippine martial law era who helped oust Marcos, dies at 101
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MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Juan Ponce Enrile, the Philippine defense chief in a martial-law era notorious for human rights atrocities, democratic setbacks and plunder who later broke off from dictator Ferdinand Marcos then helped topple him in a historic "people power" uprising in 1986, died on Thursday. He was 101.
Katrina Ponce Enrile said her father died at home surrounded by family as he had wished, but did not immediately provide other details. She has said her father had been confined in a medical intensive care unit for pneumonia treatment.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the incumbent Philippine leader and son and namesake of the authoritarian ruler Enrile helped overthrow, praised Enrile and said his death "marks the close of a chapter in our nation's history."
"We say goodbye to one of the most enduring and respected public servants our country has ever known," Marcos said in a statement. "For over 50 years, Juan Ponce Enrile dedicated his life to serving the Filipino people, helping guide the country through some of its most challenging and defining moments."
One of the country's most prominent lawyers, Enrile was also one of the longest-serving officials in Philippine history with a career in government that spanned for more than a half century. He had served in various posts under the elder Marcos starting when the latter won the presidency in 1965. In 2022, the current president appointed Enrile as chief presidential legal counsel, at age 98.
Among the departments Enrile led were justice and finance, including a stint as Bureau of Customs commissioner. He served three terms in the Senate, where he became president from 2008 to 2013. He was a former member of the House of Representatives to represent the northern province of Cagayan, where he was born on Feb. 14, 1924.
In 2014, Enrile surrendered after he was indicted and ordered arrested by the anti-graft Sandiganbayan court for allegedly receiving huge kickbacks from a scam that diverted millions of dollars from anti-poverty and development funds allotted to lawmakers. He denied the accusation and enlisted top-notch lawyers to defend him.
After a year of detention, the Supreme Court granted Enrile's petition for bail in 2015 for humanitarian reasons. He was cleared of the plunder charge last year by the court for insufficient evidence, then cleared of graft charges just last month after a lengthy trial.
"I knew all along that I'll be acquitted because I haven't done anything," Enrile, then already a centenarian, said.