Katrina Ponce Enrile, daughter of the late Juan Ponce Enrile, responded to Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano’s remarks that he was close to her father and had considered him an “uncle.”

In a Facebook post, Enrile said that during the necrological services at the Senate and the days surrounding her father’s passing, the family took note of “those who chose to be present — and those who were not.”

“Our family has taken note of the remarks recently attributed to Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano regarding his relationship with our father,” Enrile wrote.

She said that while the family recognizes past familiarity, genuine relationships are not defined by public statements after a person’s death.

“They are measured by presence, sincerity, and the quiet acts of respect shown to a grieving family during moments of profound loss,” she added.

Enrile said such declarations of closeness have brought the family “dejection and disappointment.”

She also stressed that her father’s legacy and decades of public service should not be referenced only when “convenient, politically useful, or advantageous.”

“He deserved sincerity in life, dignity in death, and peace in memory,” she said.

Enrile added that the family continues to observe the values of grace and restraint that her father upheld throughout his life.

“We pray that all who invoke his name do so with honesty, consistency, and genuine respect,” she said.