“Unlike the comical sense of the memes portraying him in such light, he was history for all the wrong reasons”
Finally, the time has come. Juan Ponce Enrile passed away on Thursday at the age of 101. He succumbed after his bout with pneumonia.
Enrile’s death came at a perfect time for him as he emerged victorious over graft and plunder charges in relation to the pork barrel scam. He had proven himself already to survive every single legal hurdle that came his way throughout his long political career. And this win of his was no exception.
Juan Ponce Enrile has long been known by today’s Facebook generation as the old man who came to existence in the stone times. He was used as a meme, with his age being the subject. Numerous meme lords have pictured him beside dinosaurs, old relics, and even as part of various illustrations that created history as we know it.
Similarly, Juan Ponce Enrile was history. But unlike the comical sense of the memes portraying him in such light, he was history for all the wrong reasons.
I will not divulge his involvement with the Martial Law rule of the strongman Apo Marcos. It has been established since his close association with the presidency that led him to share power in the nine years of Proclamation no. 1081. Enrile had businesses that he took part in using his advantage. Of course, he had the entire army with him, duh! Besides, he could put to rest his claim that no single individual had been arrested during his president’s authoritarian rule; that is, if you’ve successfully ignored your history books.
But let me try and reminisce about Enrile’s greatest mishap in his long journey. He loved going in for adventure.
He had long been allied with the Nacionalistas until he broke away when he attempted to run for president in 1992. He joined force as an “independent” for the 1995 Senate polls, a contest that earned doubts on his win. He was implicated in the Dagdag-Bawas scam filed by one of his coalition allies, Nene Pimentel.
He successfully coalesced with Joseph Estrada in the face of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino and has remained in their company since. In fact, he showed support for Erap in the latter’s Senate impeachment trial. He stood by and fought for him, thinking that he could survive with his popularity.
Despite this, he showed amicable gestures with the president who succeeded Erap in his encounters with Gloria. In the years that followed his 2004 win, he stood away from the protests over allegations of voter fraud against Arroyo. This carried over to his ascent as Senate President.
At 84 years old, he was the grand old wizard of the Philippine Senate. Being the eldest in the chamber, he led the Upper House through one of its consequential periods. He presided over a trial that earned him the respect of his critics in handing out a “guilty” verdict towards a former Chief Justice. But until the very end, he remained unsure on whether or not his decision was justified.
And then, he broke away. I’d assume that, after he voted against the passage of the RH bill, the hands of Noynoy and company came to take him away from his pedestal. He was implicated in the pork barrel scandal, along with “Alyas Pogi” and Bong Revilla. He was only freed prematurely due to his age of 90-something years old.
It’s not hard to believe that Juan Ponce Enrile would live this long. The heavens had given him enormous opportunities to clear his name across the public perception. Yet he squandered them all in order to preserve his soul in the unforgiving political battlefield. Even now, I am still processing his loss. But his death opened up an opportunity to look into his tainted legacy.
A legacy of fully understanding the system and abusing it. That was Juan Ponce Enrile.
May the Lord bestow him mercy on his soul.
(The writer is a 20-something year-old who floats around between writing and keeping himself company inside his room. For comments, you may send them at ngrolando2003@yahoo.com.)
