Juan Ponce Enrile passes away at 103

Former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile passed away on 13 November 2025, his daughter Katrina announced. With a government career spanning nearly six decades, Enrile leaves behind a detailed legacy of public service, having held various positions under eight different presidents and leaving an indelible mark on Philippine political history.

Born on Valentine’s Day in 1922, Enrile earned his Associate of Arts degree from Ateneo de Manila University in 1949, graduating cum laude. He later attended the University of the Philippines College of Law, where he became a member of the Sigma Rho fraternity, as well as the Phi Kappa Phi and Pi Gamma Mu honor societies.

He placed 11th in the 1953 Bar Examinations with an overall score of 91.7%. He pursued further studies abroad, completing a Master of Laws degree at Harvard Law School under scholarship, specializing in international tax law.

Enrile would go on to practice law at his father’s firm, where he became acquainted with then–Senate President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. in 1964. When Marcos was elected to the presidency the following year, Enrile followed suit, becoming a part of his inner circle for the next 2 decades, where he would most notably serve as Minister of National Defense until 1986.

He would later play a pivotal role in the downfall of the Marcos regime after defecting to the opposition during the People Power Revolution of 1986. Enrile said his decision stemmed from a long-standing conflict between his loyalty to Marcos and his duty to the nation. His defection was one of the key catalysts of the uprising that restored democracy in the Philippines.

After the revolution, Enrile was initially retained as Defense Minister under President Corazon Aquino but resigned following an attempted coup. He was later elected to the Senate in 1987, beginning the first of his four total terms in the chamber.

From 1992 to 1995, he served as Cagayan’s 1st District Representative, before returning to the Senate, where he would serve until 2001. Enrile was a staunch supporter of President Joseph Estrada during the latter’s impeachment trial and was among the key figures of EDSA III alongside political fixtures Miriam Defensor Santiago, Gregorio Honasan, Panfilo Lacson, and Vicente Sotto III.

Though his support for Estrada hurt his standing with voters, Enrile rebounded, regaining a Senate seat in 2004 with a campaign centered on opposing the Purchased Power Adjustment (PPA), which he claimed unfairly raised electricity costs. In 2008, he was elected Senate President, serving until 2013.

At 86 years old, Enrile became the oldest elected public official in Philippine history when he won re-election to the Senate in 2010. During his term as Senate President, the Senate passed landmark legislation such as the CARP Extension Law, Anti-Torture Act, Expanded Senior Citizens Act, Anti-Child Pornography Act, National Cultural Heritage Act, and the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Act. He also introduced institutional reforms to improve Senate operations and employee welfare.

In 2013, Enrile was implicated in the Pork Barrel Scam alongside Senators Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada, accused of channeling approximately P20 billion in public funds through bogus NGOs run by Janet Lim-Napoles. He was acquitted in October 2025, shortly before his passing.

After his final Senate term ended in 2016, Enrile largely stepped back from public life. However, in 2022, at the age of 98, he returned to government service as Chief Presidential Legal Counsel under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the son of his former mentor.

One cannot tell the story of Philippine politics without mentioning Juan Ponce Enrile. His career spanned dictatorship, revolution, democracy, and reform — a testament to his endurance, intellect, and deep imprint on the nation’s political fabric.

He is survived by his wife, Cristina, and their children, Jack and Katrina.