Enrile family on Cayetano's declaration of ties: 'Genuine relationships are measured by presence, sincerity'

The family of the late Juan Ponce Enrile has shared the real status of their father's relationship with Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano. 

In a press conference on May 14, Cayetano mentioned Enrile in an anecdote about taking the current situation of the Philippines in stride. Saying Enrile would have told him to not panic, Cayetano described his alleged closeness to the former Senate president with a storied career in Philippine politics. 

"I was really close to him nu'ng bata ako, that's why I call him Uncle Johnny. I call my titos 'Tito' but I call my blood uncles 'Uncle.' But the only people I call 'Uncle' na hindi ko kadugo is dalawang tao lang, and one of them is JPE because I grew up with him," said Cayetano. 

However, one of Enrile's children, Katrina, sought to clarify the level of closeness Cayetano claimed.

In a statement shared on social media on May 15, she confirmed that the Cayetano and Enrile families have known each other for decades, but also noted that true relationships are measured by presence.

"Genuine relationships are not measured solely by words spoken publicly after a person has passed. They are measured by presence, sincerity, and the quiet acts of respect shown to a grieving family during moments of profound loss," Katrina wrote in the post.

"During the necrological services held in the Senate and throughout the difficult days surrounding our father’s passing, our family could not help but notice who chose to be present—and who did not," she continued, implying Cayetano was not present during the Senate's necrological service for her father. 

Enrile passed away at 101 on Nov. 13, 2025. Six days later, the Senate, led by then Senate President Tito Sotto, held a necrological service for him. During the service, eulogies were delivered by former senator Richard Gordon, former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Sen. Erwin Tulfo, Sen. Robinhood Padilla, Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, and former Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson.

"For this reason, recent public declarations of closeness, while noted, inevitably strike our family with a certain sadness and disappointment," Katrina wrote.

"Our father’s legacy, sacrifices, and decades of service to the nation should never be revisited only when convenient, politically useful, or publicly advantageous. He deserved sincerity in life, dignity in death, and peace in memory," she added. 

She ended her statement with the hope for "honesty, consistency, and genuine respect" in anyone who invokes Enrile's name. 

Cayetano, who took his oath as the new Senate president on May 11, has been headlining news recently as controversy around Sen. Bato Dela Rosa's arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court swirls around the Senate.