The late Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile’s complex role in the country’s recent history, spanning the administrations of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and Jr., or more than 60 years of public service, created a handful of enemies but hordes of followers for the controversial public figure.

His daughter, Katrina Ponce Enrile, said her father had different personas as the head of their family and as a leader, but he was always thoughtful and compassionate.

Despite all the vilification, Katrina said, “the Juan Ponce Enrile the public knows was very different from the Juan Ponce Enrile that we know. He was a very generous person. He cried easily, he easily felt pity. If you made him cry even just a little, he really felt for you. He really helped everyone he could.”

University of the Philippines (UP) professor and former National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos narrated how Enrile’s generosity shone.

“It was martial law, and everyone in government needed a travel authority to leave the country. As a young faculty member at UP, I was invited by the Hong Kong Psychological Society to present my paper at a conference,” she recalled.

Enrile, who had graduated law at UP and was then the defense minister, agreed to meet with her to hear why she should be granted permission to leave the country. Carlos got her travel authority.

“Since then, we continued to communicate and over several dinners at the Intercontinental Hotel, with a phalanx of security men, I interviewed him for a paper on Operational Code that I was writing at the time,” Carlos said

Treat others fairly

Katrina said the most important lessons her father taught her were to be a good person and to treat others with fairness.

“What he always stressed to me ever since I was a child was to remain humble, to treat people correctly, because the people you meet when you are rising may be the same people you will meet when you are on the way down.”

Enrile remained mentally sharp even though he had kidney problems, which deteriorated. “It was like his kidneys had started to fail,” according to Katrina.

“History will judge my dad. He did what he always thought was best for the country. My dad was always a forward thinker. He always told me, ‘Always think of the end game.’ So we leave it to history to judge Juan Ponce Enrile.”