The Senate held a necrological service Wednesday morning for former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who also served as chief legal counsel to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Enrile, 101, passed away on November 13 due to pneumonia. He was known as the chief architect and implementer of Martial Law.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III introduced a resolution expressing the chamber’s “deepest sympathies and profound condolences” over Enrile’s death. “The death of a public servant of many decades, who knew the cost of being a public servant, the impossible choices, the burdens, and frankly, the loneliness, yet still chose to serve until his last days with his faith and hope for the future of our country, is a profound loss to the nation and to many Filipinos,” Sotto said.
The necrological service, which began at 9 a.m. at the Senate Session Hall, featured eulogies from select senators, Sotto, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and former Senator Richard Gordon.
