November 14, 2025
MANILA – Juan Ponce Enrile, one of the country’s longest-serving and most controversial legal and political figures, has died at the age of 101.
Enrile, who had been serving until his death as chief legal counsel of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., died at 4:21 p.m. on Thursday, according to his daughter, Katrina Ponce Enrile.
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Born on Feb. 14, 1924, Enrile was the country’s oldest active public official with his career spanning over several administrations — making him one of the country’s longest-lived legal luminaries.
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Before his career in politics, Enrile earned his Bachelor of Laws in 1953 from the University of the Philippines, where he graduated cum laude, and his Master of Laws from Harvard Law School in 1955.
Enrile’s mark in politics began during the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who took office as president in 1965. Since then, Enrile became sort of a protege to Marcos Sr.
He first served as a commissioner of the Bureau of Customs in Marcos Sr.’s administration, then later as undersecretary and acting secretary of the Department of Finance, and, eventually, as justice secretary.
It was during his tenure as defense minister from Feb. 9, 1970, onwards, when Enrile really began gaining prominence — and controversy. He played a key role and was known as one of the architects in the implementation of martial law during Marcos Sr.’s administration, which lasted for 20 years.
Yet in a dramatic turn of events, Enrile later withdrew his support from Marcos Sr. and became one of the key figures in the 1986 Edsa People Power revolution that drove the Marcoses out of the country.
After 1986, Enrile transitioned to a new role as a lawmaker, where he later rose to become the 21st Senate president of the country.
Almost as if by fate, Enrile’s life ended while in the service of another Marcos, this time the son. This final post as chief legal counsel for the president marked a fitting coda to what has practically been a constant presence in the country’s politics since the Marcoses rose to power.