[Photo - Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile. INQUIRER file photo]
MANILA, FEBRUARY 27, 2012 (INQUIRER)
By Bibeth Orteza - (Editor's Note: The author set out to observe a
day in the life of her husband's uncle, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, as
he presides over what is one of the most important trials in the country's
history—the impeachment of the Supreme Court Chief Justice. Graciously welcomed
by her subject into his home and allowed to tag along to the trial, she came
away with much more than just the details of a daily routine. The star of the
moment obliged her with a sometimes tearful recollection of his life, enough
material perhaps for a scriptwriter like the author and a director like her
husband Carlitos Siguion-Reyna to turn into a riveting movie.)
8:15 a. m.
THE MAN of the house is still in his bedroom. Sally Moneda, his cook and
personal assistant of 26 years, reminds his close-in aide, Julius Gumban, not to
take away the newspaper as "he has not read Bernas [constitutionalist Fr.
Joaquin Bernas, SJ, who writes an opinion column in the Inquirer–Ed]."
The books under the stairs include the New King James Version of the Holy
Bible (quick reference edition); "Spiritual Politics" by Gordon McLaughlin and
Gordon Davidson; "His Excellency, George Washington" by Joseph J. Ellis; "1,000
Places to See Before You Die" by Patricia Schultz; and "The Oxford Companion to
Politics of the World" by Joel Krieger.
Also "Presidential Plunder, the Quest for the Marcos Hidden Wealth" and
"Struggle and Hope," both by Jovito R. Salonga, right next to five books written
by Ferdinand E. Marcos during his martial law years.
On the flyleaf of "The Marcos Years," the former president had
handwritten a dedication to the man who would remain his secretary of national
defense until 1986 when a People's Power revolt, aided and abetted by the
latter, toppled his dictatorship.
"Sept. 10, 1972, on the eve of my birthday
To Johnny, who has
contributed to the achievements of the Marcos years in a large way."
8:25 a.m.
Bing Rosales, sent to study reflexology for two years after showing aptitude
for the therapy, leads her boss down the stairs. "He's good to us, so we pray
that nothing bad happens to him," she says.
"Good morning, good morning!" exclaims Juan Ponce Enrile.
First, his blood pressure is checked. It is normal at 126/60, from a high of
190/90 the previous afternoon. It shoots up every now and then so he has to take
maintenance medication.
He really should sleep early but just the other day, he didn't hit the sack
until 4 a.m., he says. His bedtime varies, depending on the amount of reading he
feels he has to do because, he says, he has to study and weigh things as well as
he can.
"You see, I am not the court. The Senate is the court," he says. "I sign the
subpoenas, but I need the permission of the court. There is equal weight among
the rights of the respondents, the policy of government, the impact of the
decision on the public, on the business sector, on everybody. (If we) block
disclosures on the basis of loyalties, the public will think we are covering up.
People don't really know the law as much as they do their doubts and their
suspicions.
8:30 a.m.
Breakfast is a sausage with a dab of mustard. Sometimes it's a bowl of
oatmeal, eaten with inihaw na pusit (dried squid), or rice with scrambled eggs
and tuyo (dried fish). Some mornings it is pan de sal (roll) with cheese.
Enrile is told this paper has referred to him and defense counsel
Serafin Cuevas (photo) as the "superstars" of the ongoing trial.
He shrugs, "I don't know what that infers."
He likes to pore over his cases alone, he says, and tests the validity of the
opinions of others against his own study of all the issues involved.
"I make my own trial brief," he adds.
In the years when he was practicing law, he says, he would first check a case
for any violations against the Constitution, and then study the laws that could
apply, given the facts, the pleading or the complaint.
"I was fortunate to have met brilliant minds in and out of court," he
recalls, such as Vicente Francisco, Jose W. Diokno, Alberto Jamil, Rod
Jalandoni, Claudio Teehankee, among others.
At 88, he can still name his professors at the University of the Philippines
College of Law where he received his law degree in 1953.
"Jose Espiritu for corporation law, Emiliano Navarro for criminal law,
Enrique Fernando for constitutional law, Peping Campos for negotiable
instruments law, Norberto Quisumbing for trial technique, Bienvenido Ambion for
torts and damages, Mrs. Laurea—I forget her first name (it's Norberta)—for
contract law and family relations, Juan T. Santos, "who made us memorize the
Rules of Court from cover to cover, my goodness."
He asks Sally for coffee and continues, "My grades were good, but I didn't
become a bar topnotcher. I answered the exam questions both ways, and for that I
got minuses."
Enrile placed 11th, with a rating of 91.72 percent, in the 1954 bar
examinations. If that's not impressive enough, consider this: He got a perfect
score in commercial law.
An argument with professor Vicente Abad Santos caused him a
"3" in civil law.
"I didn't know he was so sensitive. That was five units so bumaba ang
average ko (that lowered my average grade)," recalls the man who would have
graduated magna cum laude of the UP College of Law class of 1953 but had to
settle for cum laude.
When student and teacher met again, it was as secretary of the Department of
Justice and head of the Board of Pardons and Parole, respectively.
"I gave you a low grade even if you deserved a higher one because you so
irritated me," Enrile recollects Abad Santos telling him.
"Never mind, I am now your boss," he recalls answering. "We then became
friends."
All his teachers, he says, were good to him, including the ones at Harvard
University where, on full scholarship, he earned his Master of Laws with
specialization in taxation and corporate reorganization.
9 a.m.
"I do not wish them to mark me absent at the legislative session," he says,
so he leaves home earlier than most people would expect since the impeachment
trial doesn't start until well after lunch.
After taking some time to read the briefs and curriculum vitae of two
ambassadors scheduled to pay him a courtesy visit this day, he breaks his
silence.
"I never expected to amount to anything."
For a caminero (laborer) like him who made 75 centavos a day smashing
rocks on the road from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., to be able to get a good education was
nothing short of a miracle, he says.
At the Harvard Law School, studies mattered to him more than anything else.
Again, Enrile is able to recall his graduate school professors: Paul Freund
for constitutional law and conflict of laws ("one of the brightest professors
ever at Harvard"), Milton Katz for international law ("he became the director of
the Economic Cooperation Administration or the US Marshall Plan in Europe"), law
school dean Erwin Griswold for basic courses in income taxation, Stanley Surrey
for international taxation ("he became US Treasury assistant secretary").
"For corporate reorganization I had Ernest Brown. I could not understand a
thing he was saying [in class]," recalls Enrile. "My God, I did not know
accounting at all! So I forthrightly admitted I had a problem following him."
The professor lent him two books and told him to come back only after he had
read the books. "I did exactly that, and only then did everything sink in,"
Enrile says. "That was when I learned what corporate reorganization really
entailed."
While at Harvard, the Ilocano scholar received a monthly allowance of $170.
He managed to have $700 in savings by the end of his stay.
"I didn't go out much, except for few times with Paeng Salas, Ado Reyes and
sometimes Beniting Legarda," he says.
At the time, too, his romance with a girl from Iloilo had just ended. "Her
letters simply stopped," he says. "I presumed she had found someone. I presumed
wrong. I would find out she never married and that, shortly before she died, she
wanted to see me."
He didn't have to nurse a broken heart for long. While in Massachusetts he
met a girl from Costa Rica and, shortly thereafter, marriage was being
discussed.
"Her condition was for us to live in her country, where her family had
sizable land holdings," recalls Enrile. "I said no. I had just met my father. He
was as happy as I was to meet him. How could I agree to live in Costa Rica?"
9:20 a.m.
Enrile swings by the legislative session in the same hall where he is to
preside later and is marked "present."
Senate President Pro Tempore Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada is presiding over a group
that includes Vicente Sotto III, Franklin Drilon, Gregorio Honasan, Ralph Recto,
Joker Arroyo, Ramon Revilla Jr., Antonio Trillanes IV, Manuel Villar, Manuel
Lapid, Alan Peter and Pia Cayetano, Teofisto Guingona III, and Francis Escudero.
Out of their robes the senators are easily recognizable.
Senator-judge Juan Ponce Enrile as presiding officer at the Corona
impeachment trial. INQUIRER file photo A short elevator ride takes Enrile to the
Office of the Senate President, which has been his since the 14th Congress
started in November 2008.
He responds to morning salutations from employees not by merely nodding but
by verbalizing a hearty "magandang umaga rin!"
In his office, there is time for chitchat before the diplomat guests arrive.
He knows exactly where he is in the conversation, so much so that one has to
interrupt him and ask how he keeps his focus. He seems taken aback by the
question, as if wondering why his focus is a concern. He answers nonetheless.
"Even before I sleep, I anticipate what is to come, what I'm to encounter. I
make up my mind about certain decisions, the direction I'm going to take, and
that's it—unless someone can persuade me to the contrary. But I do not close my
mind. I am not against hearing other positions. I need to be sure I am not
making an error in judgment when I arrive at my present position."
10:45 a.m.
The diplomats arrive, and Enrile receives them in the conference room
adjacent to his private quarters.
After an hour, he returns with a brisk stride that says so much about his
morning exercises and calisthenics.
"I sometimes dance, even by myself, while watching a dance DVD. I sweat and I
get to stretch," he says. "Every now and then I drop by the 365 Club at the
Hotel Intercon. It's no longer what it was in the days of Ka Doroy [then dean of
newspapermen Teodoro Valencia–Ed.] and Mesiong Yabut [former mayor of
Makati–Ed.], but I still have friends there. My sister Armida is also a member."
[PHOTO - Armida Siguion-Reyna with husband Leonardo
Siguion-Reyna.]
The relationship with Armida Siguion-Reyna has an interesting back story.
The boy who was given his mother Petra's family name, Furraganan, found out
who his father was while he was getting ready to join the guerrillas in the last
World War.
"Anakka iti ruar. Ponce ti nagan ti tatang mo. Maysa nga abogado. Awan
ditoy, adda didiay Manila," his mother had confessed to him in Ilocano. (You
are my child out of wedlock. Ponce is your father's name. He is a lawyer. He is
not here, he is in Manila.)
From that day on, Juanito went by the nom-de-guerre Valentin Ponce,
the first after his day of birth, which is Feb. 14, and the second, in honor of
his father.
Juanito had two older brothers Eduardo and Eligio, sons of his mother by her
first husband Martin Paddayuman, who died early. He also has five younger
siblings from his mother's marriage to Macario Rapada of Ilocos Sur. They were
Marciana, Melanio, Luisa, Juliana and Ireneo.
The family tree gets more complicated.
One day he was invited to the home of Vicente Alvarado, his father's neighbor
in Aparri. "There I was introduced, without any warning, to Nena, Teresing,
Edeng, and Carmeling," says Enrile.
The girls, it turned out, were his father's children by Rosario Martinez of
Cagayan, along with a son named Mario, whose boat had been torpedoed by the
Japanese on his way back to Manila to marry his girl.
So there before him were four more Ponce-Enriles. Soon he would find out
about Nancy, another half-sibling from their father's liaison with Maria Balisi
of Aparri.
As far as he knew then, he had seven half-siblings by his mother and six by
his father, whom he had never met.
11:50 a.m.
Executive Assistant Tala Maralit walks in with Majority Floor Leader Tito
Sotto. Enrile waves the senator in and they huddle.
Senator Trillanes comes in next, with a procedural question. It's a short,
quite cordial exchange.
12 noon
[PHOTO - Senator-judge Juan Ponce Enrile as presiding officer at the
Corona impeachment trial. INQUIRER file
photo]
The Senate President is not one to lunch alone. Four others join him for a
Chinese meal of clear soup, steamed garoupa, steamed shrimps, crabs with
black-bean sauce and bok choy sprinkled with garlic.
He continues with his recollection. "So I had met some paternal siblings."
Late in August of 1945, Alvarado returned from Manila, with a message for
Juanito.
"My father wished to see me, and I was to go with him to Manila at once,"
recalls Enrile.
In the city, he was brought to a house in Sta. Mesa. After a week, he still
had not heard from the father who he had been told wanted so badly to meet him.
He would soon discover that one of his roommates, William Balisi, was a full
brother of the same Nancy whom he met in Aparri. William was therefore also his
half brother.
William whispered to the young probinsyano that he had disappointed
their father, which was why he was doing errands in that household, in addition
to holding a day job at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
"Don't be like me," Enrile recalls William telling him. "You study hard."
William then informed his younger half-brother that there had been a
misunderstanding of sorts and it didn't look like the Sta. Mesa Ponce-Enriles
were going to introduce Johnny to their father.
Johnny would have to go see the old man on his own, but how? He hardly knew
his way around town.
"Listen carefully now, this is the way to Papa's office," William instructed
him.
From Sta. Mesa, all the way to Legarda, to Azcarraga (Recto Avenue), to R.
Hidalgo, to Quezon Boulevard, Enrile found himself in Quiapo where he was struck
with a baton by an American sentry.
"I had no idea what jaywalking was," he recalls.
He then walked straight to Carriedo, crossed Avenida Rizal, passed the Ideal
theater, walked towards the Sta. Cruz bridge, walked around Plaza Sta. Cruz,
found Dasmariñas Street, turned left around the corner and went on until he
reached Plaza Cervantes.
"And there it was, the Edificio Soriano. I entered the building from Plaza
Cervantes. I saw people standing in front of a door on the right side of the
corridor. I stopped and watched. William told me to go to the seventh floor of
the building. As I stood there, I noticed people rushing out of the door as it
opened, and people outside rushing in before the door closed. It was my first
time to see something like that. I was afraid I would not get out from there
alive.
No one had told the boy from Cagayan about the wonderful contraption called
the elevator.
On the wall facing the elevator door on the seventh floor were the words
"Dewitt, Perkins, and Ponce-Enrile Law Offices."
Juanito approached Santiago Gampued, the telephone operator behind a desk in
the lobby, and introduced himself.
"I want to see attorney Alfonso Ponce Enrile. I am Juanito Furraganan."
He was made to write his name on a small piece of paper and told to wait.
Gampued returned shortly and motioned him to a narrow hallway that ended in
front of a polished wooden door on the northeast corner.
Seated behind a large desk cluttered with piles of paper was a man Castilian
in appearance—light complexion, bushy eyebrows, hair almost all white, thick
eyeglasses over his high-bridged nose. The man stood up upon seeing him.
"He was of medium built and as tall as I was," recalls Enrile. "I'd have
thought him urbane, if I knew the word then. And imposing." Although his face
was somewhat haggard and marked with lines, Enrile thought him good looking.
"He walked towards me, I met him halfway," recalls Enrile. "He stepped
forward, raised his arms, put them around me, held me tightly and said, 'I am
sorry, my son.'"
1:45 p.m.
Gumban has walked in and out of the office twice, perhaps to remind his boss
of the time. He sees what he sees and backs out.
The Senate President is crying.
He apologizes, but is unabashed. "I break down every time I recall the first
time I met Papa."
In October of 1944, he says, he was being beaten up by the Kempetei almost
every day, and had no way of knowing if he was going to live or die.
"Now, September of 1945, I find myself being hugged by the father I had only
much recently found out about, and he's telling me I'm not going back to Sta.
Mesa. I'm to ride with him to Malabon. He is driving a black, three-seater
Chevrolet convertible sports car," says Enrile.
The car stopped in front of the steel gate of a large compound that held a
two story semi-concrete house a few meters away. They get off. They are met by a
handsome woman, two girls and two boys much younger than Johnny. (Raquel, the
oldest girl, happened to be with their maternal grandparents in Pinaglabanan.)
"Papa goes… Papa goes…"
He removes his glasses, wipes the tears off the lenses and, half-laughing,
half-crying, says, "Papa said, 'Mama, Mida, Nene, Junior, Toti—this is Juanito.
He is my son. From now on he will live with us.'"
Enrile was 21 when he was enrolled a high school junior at St.
James Academy in Malabon. After his senior year, he had to take a validating
examination for all high school subjects from first year to the first semester
of third year as his academic records were incomplete.
After high school, Juanito was accepted at Ateneo de Manila for his
two-year pre-law studies, and graduated cum laude, despite having to work as an
assistant librarian in his father's office. By this time, so many shovels and
picks away from his caminero days, he was getting paid P120 a month.
The library proved to be most memorable for the advice that came from his
father's senior partner Clyde A. Dewitt, a former Thomasite:
"If you aspire to be a trial lawyer, master the rules of evidence. Gain the
habit of knowing thoroughly the facts of every case you handle. Study the case
from the viewpoint of the other side as much as you study your side. Learn the
technique of cross-examination by heart. You acquire that skill, not from
reading books, but from actual practice in the courtroom. To be a corporation
lawyer, you must have a thorough knowledge of corporation law, a familiarity
with business practices and a working knowledge of accounting."
[PHOTO MALCOLM HALL, UP COLLEGE OF LAW]
Before Enrile entered the UP College of Law, his father instructed
Mariano Carbonell, a senior lawyer in the same office, to file a petition to
judicially change his surname.
2:14 p.m.
The Presiding Officer, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, calls the
Impeachment Trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato C. Corona to order. First posted 12:53 am | Sunday, February 26th, 2012
SUPPLEMENTAL FROM WIKIPEDIA
Personal life
Manong Johnny, as he is often called, ("Manong" is an Ilocano affectionate
term for an older brother) is married to Cristina Castañer, a Filipina of
Spanish ancestry who in 2008 was named Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See.
They have two children: Juan, Jr. and Katrina. Juan Ponce Enrile, Jr. is
currently a congressman representing the 1st District of Cagayan.
[PHOTO - Armida and son Carlitos]
Katrina Ponce Enrile is the current CEO of Enrile's company Jaka Group. The
Jaka Group owns the Philippine Match Company, the Philippines' leading match
maker.
Enrile has a half-sister, Armida Siguion-Reyna, who is a noted singer
and stage/film actress.
Early life and career
Juan Ponce Enrile was born Juanito Furagganan in Gonzaga, Cagayan, to Petra
Furagganan, 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 Ponce
Enrile. He is the second great-nephew of Mariano Ponce. He was reunited
with his father by the time he reached his high school years.
He graduated cum laude in 1949 with an Associate of Arts degree at the Ateneo
de Manila University. Afterward, he attended the University of the Philippines
College of Law and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Laws degree. While in
law school, he joined the Sigma Rho fraternity.
Upon graduation, he was elected to the prestigious Pi Gamma Mu and Phi Kappa
Phi international honor societies.
He achieved the 11th highest score in the 1953 bar examinations with a 91.72%
rating and a perfect score in mercantile law.
As a scholar at the Harvard Law School, he earned a Master of Laws degree
with specialized training in international tax law.
He taught law at the Far Eastern University and practiced law in his father's
law firm before taking responsibility for then Senator Ferdinand Marcos's
personal legal affairs in 1964, especially during the latter's term as Senate
President.
After Marcos was elected president in 1965, Enrile became part of his inner
circle.
From 1966 to 1968, he was the Undersecretary and sometime 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 was the Secretary of the Department of Justice.
Secretary of Defense
Secretary of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile with President Ferdinand Marcos. In
1970, he was appointed Secretary of the Department of National Defense. He left
his post in 1971 to run unsuccessfully for a Senate seat.
Enrile was appointed Defense Chief in 1972. One of Marcos' justifications for
the declaration of martial law that year was terrorism. He cited the alleged
bombing attack on Enrile's car on September 21, 1972.
In 1973, under the new modified parliamentary system then in place under the
country's new constitution, Enrile's title became Defense Minister. As Defense
Minister, he presided over 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 won an election for assemblyman representing Cagayan Valley for the
Interim Batasang Pambansa in 1978.
As the 1980's began, Marcos began to disregard Enrile's authority as defense
secretary when he changed the chain of command in the military. Under the new
chain of command, the authority would evolve from him as president and
commander-in-chief of the armed forces to his trusted military officer, General
Fabian Ver, then the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Meaning, Enrile was bypassed and officers with close ties with him were being
removed from command positions or being demoted and sometimes, would be retired
forcibly from military service.
After opposition leader Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. was assassinated
on August 21, 1983, Enrile started to break away from the increasingly unpopular
Marcos dictatorship. He began aligning himself with dissident elements in the
army, particularly the Reform the Armed Forces Movement - which was then headed
by his Aide-de-camp, Lt. Col. Gregorio Honasan. Officers from this group, with
Enrile's support, launched a coup d'état against Marcos in February 1986.
Marcos was alerted to the plot by then General Ver, and the conspirators took
refuge in two military camps. From there, Ponce Enrile and then Lt. General
Fidel Ramos, the head of the Philippine Constabulary (now the Philippine
National Police) and concurrently vice-chief of staff of the armed forces,
rallied opponents against Marcos in a citizens' revolt that became known as the
People Power Revolution.
At the same time, Enrile revealed details of the public deception he had
perpetuated while serving in the Marcos government. This included being aware of
fraudulent voting 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.
Juan Ponce Enrile emerged as one of the 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 spread that Ramos and Enrile were among
those involved in Aquino's assassination. It is alleged that, in order not to be
accused along with the Marcoses, the two plotted a coup against the president.
Enrile served as Secretary of National Defense under Corazon Aquino, who had
replaced Marcos as president, but he increasingly differed with Aquino,
specifically on the administration's handling of insurgent leftist opposition.
As a result, he was forced to resign as Defense Secretary in November
1986.
Secretary of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile with
President
Ferdinand Marcos
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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