Philippines: Juan Ponce Enrile in ICU with pneumonia, ‘slim chances of surviving,’ says senator

Manila: Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has been confined to an intensive care unit (ICU) and is in critical condition due to pneumonia, Senator Jinggoy Estrada announced on the Senate floor Tuesday (November 11).

“I have just received very, very sad information that our former colleague, former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, is currently in the intensive care unit of an undisclosed hospital suffering from pneumonia,” Estrada told his fellow senators.

Estrada said his information came from a “very reliable source,” adding that Enrile has “slim chances of surviving.”

At Estrada’s request, Senator Joel Villanueva led a prayer for the 101-year-old statesman.

“At this moment, we humbly pray and lift up to You the life of our colleague, mentor, Senate President, fellow public servant, who has dedicated his life in service to our countrymen — Senator Juan Ponce Enrile,” Villanueva said in Filipino.

A long political career

Enrile turned 101 in February.

He was handpicked by deposed President Ferdinand Marcos Sr in the late 1960s to head the Customs, before being appointed defence minister.

Enrile joined the ranks of military rebels who plotted a coup against Marcos Sr, who was then toppled by a peaceful "People Power" revolt in 1986.

Enrile was first elected to the Senate in 1987, serving as the chamber’s lone opposition member until 1992.

He then joined the House of Representatives from 1992 to 1995 before returning to the Senate, where he served multiple terms from 1995 to 2001 and again from 2004 to 2016.

He became Senate President in November 2008, a post he held until June 2013, when he resigned following controversies over alleged "Priority Development Assistance Fund" (PDAF, aka "pork barrel").

In 2022, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. appointed Enrile as Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, marking his return to Malacañang decades after serving under the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. as defense minister.

Role in the 1986 People Power Revolution

Enrile’s legacy is deeply intertwined with Philippine history.

As defence minister under Marcos Sr., he was a key architect of the Martial Law imposition.

Then he became one of the key figures who broke away from the dictatorship, joining then Armed Forces Vice Chief of Staff Fidel V. Ramos in the military revolt that triggered the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.

That act helped end the Marcos regime and ushered in the country’s return to democracy — a dramatic turn for a man long associated with the old order he ultimately helped topple.