Juan Ponce Enrile passes away at 101
Juan Ponce Enrile has passed away at the age of 101, his daughter, Katrina Ponce Enrile, announced on social media.
"It is with profound love and gratitude that my father, Juan Ponce Enrile, peacefully returned to his Creator on November 13, 2025 at 4:21 p.m., surrounded by our family in the comfort of our home," she wrote.
"It was his heartfelt wish to take his final rest at home, with his family by his side. We were blessed to honor that wish and to be with him in those sacred final moments," she continued.
Katrina asked for the public's understanding as they grieve privately and honor her father's memory "in quiet and in peace."
The details of his wake will be shared once arrangements are finalized.
"On behalf of our family, I extend our deepest gratitude for the overwhelming love, prayers, and support we have received during this difficult time. Your kindness means more than words can express," Katrina said.
This comes after Sen. Jinggoy Estrada disclosed during the Senate plenary session that Enrile had been admitted to the intensive care unit due to pneumonia.
"I heard from a reliable source, a very, very reliable source, that he has slim chances of surviving," he said.
At 101, Enrile was the oldest serving member of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos' administration.
Also referred to by his initials "JPE," Enrile has left a legacy spanning more than half a century in Philippine politics.
Long and storied political career
Born on February 14, 1924 in Gonzaga, Cagayan, Enrile began his career in law after graduating cum laude from Ateneo de Manila in 1949. He subsequently attended the University of the Philippines College of Law and finished as cum laude with a Bachelor of Laws degree.
He went on to teach at the Far Eastern University while working for his father's law firm. It was then that he got in touch with the late former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who was a senator at the time, and became in charge of his personal legal affairs starting in 1964.
After Marcos Sr. was elected president in 1965, Enrile became part of his inner circle and was appointed to various government agencies, including as the undersecretary of the Department of Finance from 1966 to 1968 and as secretary of Justice from 1968 to 1979.
He officially entered politics when he won a senatorial seat in the 1987 elections. When his term ended, he was elected as the representative of the first district of Cagayan.
His political career would continue as he won the senatorial race in 1995, 2004, and 2008, and later became Senate President for five years until 2013.
Under his term, the Senate passed several major laws, including the Anti-Torture Act, Expanded Senior Citizens Act, Anti-Child Pornography Act, National Cultural Heritage Act, Real Estate Investment Trust Act, and more.
When his term ended in 2016, Enrile attempted to return to the Senate in 2019, but was unsuccessful in regaining a seat. He put his political career on hold until he returned as the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel to Marcos Jr.
His role in Martial Law
With his long career in government, Enrile played key roles in some of the country’s most significant political events. During Martial Law, he served as the secretary of National Defense and was instrumental in its implementation after its declaration in 1972.
His position placed him at the center of the Marcos administration’s security and defense operations.
However, Enrile eventually started to break away from Marcos Sr.'s dictatorship and shifted from enforcer to rebel. He secretly began planning a coup against Marcos Sr., but it was discovered and aborted in its earliest stages in 1986.
In a press conference with the late former president Fidel V. Ramos, Enrile admitted that the so-called ambush to justify the declaration of martial law on Sept. 22, 1972, was faked.
When the disputed presidential election results between Marcos Sr. and the late Corazon Aquino sparked public outrage, their planned defection escalated into the People Power Revolution, a largely peaceful uprising that ultimately led to Marcos Sr.’s ouster.
Under Aquino's administration, he was appointed once more as Defense Secretary, but resigned due to "disagreements" with Aquino and his alleged role in plotting later coups against her.
Pork barrel involvement and other controversies
Political controversies remained a recurring aspect of Enrile’s career. In 2013, he was accused of giving P1.6 million each to 18 senators as cash gifts labeled "MOOE" or maintenance and other operating expenses, except for four senators who allegedly received P250,000.
More infamously, he was involved in the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam, wherein P20 billion worth of funds were illegally channeled through various bogus non-governmental organizations of Janet Lim-Napoles.
Enrile, along with fellow senators Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada, was indicted for plunder and for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act before the Sandiganbayan in 2014 in connection with the scam.
Recently, in October, Enrile and Napoles were cleared of 15 counts of graft in the scam by the Sandiganbayan 3rd Division.
Enrile is survived by his wife Cristina Castañer García and their two children, Juan Jr. and Katrina.