Former senator Juan Ponce Enrile celebrates his 98th birthday today, February 14.
Juan Furagganan Ponce Enrile Sr., CLH was born on February 14, 1924). He was also referred to by his initials JPE. He is a Filipino politician and lawyer.
Enrile was a protégé of President Ferdinand Marcos and served as Justice Secretary and Defense Minister during the Marcos administration. Enrile and General Fidel Ramos, along with several other military officers, withdrew their support for Marcos in February 1986. This was one of the critical moments of the 1986 People Power Revolution, which drove Marcos out of power and into exile.
Enrile has continued to be a prominent politician since then. He was Senate President from November 2008 until his resignation on June 5, 2013.
In early 2012, Enrile was the presiding officer of the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona. He was one of the 20 Senators who voted guilty for the impeachment. In September 2012, he started a feud with Antonio Trillanes when he asked Trillanes why he secretly visited Beijing to talk about the Philippines and the Spratly Islands dispute on Spratlys and the Scarborough Shoal.
Juan Ponce Enrile celebrates 98th birthday
In January 2013, while sitting as the Senate President, Enrile was accused of using Senate funds called MOOE as Christmas gifts to members of the Senate who do not oppose him. This led to his resignation as Senate President without sufficiently answering the controversy.
Enrile, along with fellow senators Bong Revilla, and Jinggoy Estrada, were indicted for plunder and the violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act before the Sandiganbayan on June 6, 2014, in connection to the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam.
The alleged masterminds are Janet Lim Napoles and Juan Ponce Enrile’s former chief of staff, Gigi Reyes. Enrile allegedly received ₱172 million in kickbacks from public funds. He was detained on July 3, 2014, and suspended from his Senate post on September 1, 2014, for these charges, after his motions to post bail to lift the suspension order were denied.
At the age of 98, Juan Ponce Enrile is older than the Penicilin (1928), World War II (1937), and the World Health Organization (1948.)
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