Enrile's daughter Katrina disputes Alan Peter Cayetano remark

The daughter of the late Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile on Wednesday called for historical accuracy in public references to her father, after Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano cited his case in a recent remark.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Administrator Katrina Ponce Enrile of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (Ceza) said Cayetano’s claim that her father was charged with rebellion was “not entirely accurate.”

“Senator Cayetano seems to have a penchant for using my father’s case as an example. That’s his choice. But if my father’s name is to be invoked repeatedly in public discourse, then I hope the facts are treated with the same care and respect that we would want afforded to anyone else’s history,” she said.

“As his daughter, it is difficult to watch a man who can no longer defend himself be reduced to abbreviated versions of events that are readily available for verification,” she added.

Katrina said her father was charged with “rebellion complexed with murder,” which she said was a legal theory the Supreme Court later rejected as a non-existent crime under Philippine law.

In a previous ruling, the Supreme Court held that rebellion is a single offense and cannot be complexed with other crimes.

“Words matter. Legal distinctions matter. Truth matters,” she said.

“I’m not asking anyone to like my father or agree with his choices. Public figures invite strong opinions, and he certainly earned his share. But if his name is going to be your historical example, then honor history itself with accuracy,” she added.

The statement came after Cayetano’s heated exchange with Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla during discussions on the arrest on Monday of Senator Jinggoy Estrada over plunder charges.

In arguing that Estrada should have been allowed to leave the Senate premises before being arrested outside, Cayetano cited the cases of Enrile and former Senate President Jovito Salonga, saying Salonga had defended Enrile’s case as “rebellion.”

“A man who can no longer defend himself deserves at least that much. The records speak for themselves. Perhaps it’s time to let them. Surely that is not too much for a daughter to ask,” Katrina said.

Enrile passed away in November 2025 at the age of 101.—MCG, GMA News