GMA News Online News » Nation

For Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, this year's Valentine's Day does not only mark the 17th day of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona. It is also the day he turns 88.

 

But Enrile's age does not by any means affect his ability to handle the legislative work in the Senate or the tedious duty of presiding daily the grueling impeachment proceedings.

 

Even Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, who's next in line to Enrile, had said that he can't imagine himself doing Enrile's work.

 

"I cannot just give rulings left and right. I cannot say, 'sustained,' 'overruled.' I have to throw it to the body, because I am not a lawyer. Unlike Sen. Enrile, he can give rulings left and right, because he knows, he understands, because he is a very brilliant lawyer," he said.

 

Enrile earned his undergraduate degree at the Ateneo de Manila University and his law degree from the University of the Philippines, where he graduated cum laude and salutatorian.

 

When Enrile took the Philippine Bar in 1954, he ranked number 11 among the passers with a rating of 91.72 percent, supposedly one of the highest in the history of the bar. He also went on to obtain his Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School as a scholar.

 

And although some senators may have disagreed with some of Enrile's rulings in the past, they have also voiced their trust and respect for the legal luminary.

 

"May mga pagkakataon na hindi ako sumang-ayon sa ating Pangulo ng Senado subalit I have never been as proud as now to be a member of the Senate," Senator Manuel Villar once said during one of the impeachment trial days.

 

‘Very impartial, very fair’

 

Enrile's longtime friend, former President Joseph Estrada, shares the sentiments of the senators.

 

"Chief Justice Corona is very fortunate than me because the presiding officer Senate President Enrile is very impartial, very fair," he said.

 

But despite the show of obvious support from his fellow senators and other colleagues, Enrile does not seem interested in clinging to his post.

 

"Kung ‘yan ang gusto ng aking mga kasama at wala silang tiwala sa akin, maski anong oras sabihin nila sa akin, magre-resign ako," he said.

 

From Marcos days to Senate today

 

And Enrile was not always favored, or at least not when the alleged bombing attack against him was used by former President Ferdinand Marcos to declare Martial Law.

 

He had served as secretary of finance, justice, and national defense under Marcos.

 

But things eventually changed when he began to break away from the dictatorship and identify himself with the Reformed Armed Forces Movement (RAM), which was incidentally headed by now Sen. Gregorio Honasan. RAM, together with Enrile, launched the coup d'état

against Marcos, who was eventually ousted by the People Power uprising.

 

He then became one of the more prominent figures of the People Power Revolution and he was eventually elected into the Senate 1987, wherein he became fellow senators with former President Estrada.

 

Enrile went on to win four Senate terms, with just two three-year breaks in 1992 and 2001. His fourth term ends in 2016.

 

Sen. Estrada, however, says he cannot imagine Enrile not presiding over them.

 

"He’s really very, very fair in all honesty. That’s why I cannot imagine Senate President Enrile not presiding over the impeachment trial," he said.

 

"He [Enrile] has grown to be a person possessed of wisdom, fairness, a sense of justice and a deep love for our country that cannot be denied. I wish him good health and more years to be of service to the nation and our people," added Sen. Francis Pangilinan.

 

Not to worry though, because Manong Johnny said he will stay as long as people still have faith in him.

 

"Hindi po ako magiging kasangkapan ng maski sinuman at hindi po ako gagawa ng pasya na hindi makatarungan. At hindi ako papayag na gagamitin ang hukuman na ito habang ako nagpe-preside na ito na magkakaroon tayo ng hindi makatarungan, makatuwiran na sistema at paghuhusgado dito sa kaso na ito," he said during one of the impeachment trial days. 

 

Enrile has two children, Cagayan Rep. Juan “Jack” Ponce Enrile Jr. and Katrina, by his wife Cristina, who was the former Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See (Vatican). –KG, GMA News