Photo By Pinggot Zulueta

MANILA, Philippines — Right from the very beginning of this 60 Minutes interview, it was immediately clear to the Students and Campuses Bulletin (SCB) team why Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile – or JPE –is respected, admired, feared, and all that, in so many ways.

Still whip-smart and incredibly perceptive even at the ripe old age of 88, this man who only wants you to be “happy’’ made the SCB team anything but, deftly parrying our questions about the upcoming impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona and keeping all of his cards very close to his chest.

Really, could one expect any less from someone who’s lived as “varied” a life as Juan Ponce Enrile?

The veteran lawmaker and former Cabinet Secretary was already brilliant at a young age, graduating cum laude in 1949 with an Associate of Arts degree from the Ateneo de Manila University and eventually graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law. As a scholar at the Harvard Law School, he earned a master of laws degree with specialized training in international tax law.

And all of this wasn’t accomplished through the largesse of his father, powerful Cagayan politician and renowned lawyer Alfonso Ponce Enrile. The way JPE tells his story, you’d think you’re watching one of local television’s overwrought teleseryes.

“My education was not continuous. I go to school one year, I stop for one year or maybe two years, then I go back because my mother could not afford to educate me. And whatever knowledge I have today, it’s self taught,” he recalls. “I went to war for my country at an early age of 17. I stayed in the jungle for three years. I’ve been imprisoned by the Japanese military police, investigated and interrogated for 89 days. I escaped, went back to the jungle until the war was finished.”

But even as JPE lived up to the image our team had of him in our heads, he also revealed a side of him that perhaps only those close to him get to see on a daily basis. As the conversation lengthened and moved away from the seriousness of the impeachment trial, JPE’s mood followed suit.

If he was intimidating us with his expectant stare from behind his yellow-tinted glasses at the beginning, at the tail end of this interview he had the SCB team in stitches, laughing at his quips, among them, about face-to-face meetings being best for plotting, and being still on prepaid service inspite of his stature in life. If he didn’t have us laughing, he had us contemplating as he quoted Jefferson, Lincoln, Rizal, and his favourite Kipling — from memory!

More than anything, JPE says he’s just a simple man who – just like his famous slogan — simply wants to be happy.

“I have very simple taste. I eat very simple food. I have simple objectives in life. Simple needs. When I finish the book that I’m writing you will find out who I am. Many people do not know me. They do not know where I came from,” he reveals.

Tomorrow, Jan. 16, JPE will serve as the Presiding Officer in the impeachment trial and all eyes will be on him. Although many people may see this as one of the highlights of JPE’s long and outstanding career in public service, for this man who has never lost a case as a lawyer, it is just all in a day’s work. “Whether public opinion is against me, if I believe that the person is not guilty, then I will say so, he’s not guilty. Even if the public opinion says that he is innocent, if in my opinion he is guilty, I will pronounce him guilty,’’ he says.

In this 60 Minutes conversation that had us running through a gamut of emotions — from being frightened of his wit to growing fond of his quips — JPE certainly ended up making us very, very happy. (Ronald S. Lim)

STUDENTS AND CAMPUSES BULLETIN (SCB): Are you ready for the impeachment tomorrow?

JUAN PONCE ENRILE (JPE): Well, as far as my role as a presiding officer, I’m prepared. I’ve studied the issues. I’ve studied the facts narrated in the articles of impeachment. I’ve studied the answers of the Chief Justice through his counsels. I’ve also studied the reply of the House of Representatives. I made analysis of the laws, the Constitutional provisions involved, the statutory provisions and then the rules of evidence needed to handle these proceedings.

SCB: Can you say the same thing about the other senator-judges?

JPE: Each one of us is responsible for his conduct and decision in this particular national issue. This is a battle of conscience. I’m not going to influence anyone of my colleagues. I respect their independence and integrity, their probity, their loyalty to country, and it’s up to them to make up their minds.

SCB: Some people say this is just a political exercise…

JPE: That’s not true. If they read Article 11 of the present Constitution — Accountability of Public Officers — the primordial duty of every public officer and employee is to act with justice. If this is just a political exercise then we do not need anyone to present evidence, all we have to do is debate the issue because a political activity is based on debates, persuasion.

But this one, we are required to try and decide the case. And when you say try, you have to receive the evidence. Due process demands you hear first before you judge. We are not judges of a beauty contest, we are jurors who must render justice. If this is just a political exercise, why do you need the Senate to hear the case, just let the people decide – through a poll, through a referendum, through a survey, as what is being done in this country. But precisely because we are a country of freedom, we have to render justice. The House prosecutes, the Senate hears and decides, no more, no less.

SCB: How is this trial going to be different from the impeachment trial of former President Joseph Estrada? Have we learned our lessons yet?

JPE: Well, I learned my lessons as a trial lawyer. I have not lost a case. A trial like this is a mental combat between the prosecutors and defense. It is a three-way combat — prosecution, defense, and the witness. The referee is the Presiding Officer and the one that will decide will be the members of the Senate. This is where you separate real lawyers from stupid ones.

TRY AND DECIDE

SCB: You mentioned in an interview that only the military can stop this impeachment. Why?

JPE: I did not say that facetiously or jokingly or irresponsibly. I said it as a matter of my notion of what the Constitution says because it says, “in case of the verified complaint or the resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of the members of the House of Representatives, then the verified complaint shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.’’ We have no choice but to proceed.

My position is that we cannot be a subject of a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) because otherwise the Supreme Court can cancel out the power given by the people to try and decide. No one else can try and decide this case but us, not even the Supreme Court, not even the people. That is the mandate of the people in their Constitution. That’s why I said, only God, the people — if they will stop us through people power — or the military, the use of legitimate force of the government, could stop us from trying this case.

SCB: What if something like what happened in Erap’s impeachment happens again?

JPE: I’m sorry to tell everybody that I’m not (former Chief Justice Hilario) Davide. I will ask the sergeant-at-arms to close the doors of the Senate.

SCB: Would you have preferred things to not escalate to an impeachment?

JPE: I have no preference. I would face the music and dance according to the tune that is being played. When I’m confronted with the performance of duty, I will do the best I can, the best way I know how.

SCB: Does public opinion have any effect or pressure on you?

JPE: I will not take public opinion for granted but they must forgive me for saying this, whether public opinion is against me, if I believe that the person is not guilty, then I will say so, he’s not guilty. Even if the public opinion says that he is innocent, if in my opinion he is guilty, I will pronounce him guilty.

SCB: Despite the rumors of plans to oust you as Senate President?

JPE: Oh my dear, from the very moment I was elected as Senate President, I’ve been waiting for my replacement. No one has a vested right in any position. You can be booted anytime. Even kings, emperors, dictators. Even popes can be replaced. No one is permanent in this life. The only one permanent is providence, God. Sinabi ko sa mga kasamahan ko, I accept this position but you can continue convincing the others to get the numbers to unseat me and you can take over. I will be very glad to hand it to you.

SCB: Then why do you think some try to hold on to position and power?

JPE: Because they don’t have confidence. If you’re confident about yourself, who cares? Just do whatever you think is right to protect you from the vagaries of ambition and events.

SCB: How about young senators, do they ask for advice?

JPE: I do what I think is the proper thing to do, and it’s up to them to follow or not. I believe in freedom of persons. Even my children, I don’t tell them what to do. I do not run their lives. It’s their life, they have to pursue it.

STRENGTH FROM WITHIN

SCB: Has there been a point in your life when you succumbed to that pressure, whether as a trial lawyer or a public servant?

JPE: No. In fact, during the EDSA Revolution, we mounted the effort without thinking of people power. We were ready to die.

SCB: Where does that strength and conviction come from?

JPE: I don’t know. I grew up in a very trying system, in a very trying environment. I went to war for my country at an early age of 17. I stayed in the jungle for three years. I’ve been imprisoned by the Japanese military police, investigated and interrogated for 89 days. I escaped, went back to the jungle until the war was finished. I live in an environment where every day is risky day for everyone. I was not fortunate enough to be born on a soft bed, with a silver spoon. I know what life is.

When I finish the book that I’m writing, you will find out who I am. Many people do not know where I came from. Unlike you, my education was not continuous. I go to school one year, I stop for one year or maybe two years, then I go back because my mother could not afford to educate me. And whatever knowledge I have today, it’s self-taught. I was tutored by American sisters to speak English, to know the grammar of English. And then I graduated from the College of Law of the University of the Philippines at the age of 29 because I could not afford to go to school. I only have two-and-a-half years of high school. When the war was over in 1945, I only finished first year high school, I was 21. And it’s a surprise I made it to this level. I never planned this.

SCB: Is there anything in your life that you would change, if you could?

JPE: None, I would not change anything about my life. It’s not for me to change. You think you have control over your life? Things happen and direct you where you’ll go. You’re like a twig thrown into the stream of life and you do not know where it will take you. Some wither on the vine shortly, some stay long. Have you ever wondered why some people die young, some die in the middle age, some people die of old age? Why? I don’t know. Life is a mystery.

SCB: You led a very colorful life, but Rwhat has been the most colorful episode to date?

JPE: Make that a “varied’’ life. I do not know whether it is psychedelic (laughs). You know “colorful’’ carries many meanings. But every part of my life is exciting. I could not differentiate one from the other. Even going to sleep, it’s a very exciting time to go to sleep. I dream a lot, most of the time, I dream about water, the sea, the ocean. I grew up by the sea.

HOPE AND FAITH

SCB: You’ve been in public service for so long...

JPE: For 45 years, since 1966.

SCB: What motivates you to go on?

JPE: Nothing. I let the people decide whether they want me or not. Isn’t it that all government authority originates from them? Nobody can hold public office unless you are appointed by somebody who is crazy enough to appoint you, or you are elected.

SCB: It seems that you have seen it all in this society, but through the years, things have not changed…

JPE: Alam mo iha, from the beginning of humankind, it’s been like that. Even Christ was not able to change humanity until now. The process of changing is still there. Why was Jesus Christ raised to that cross and then nailed? Who judged him? Not Pilate. Not the court of law. He was judged by the people of his time and in his country.

SCB: Why do you think people don’t learn?

JPE: Because we are human beings. This is not a world of saints and gentle people. It is, if you read Thomas Harris, he will tell you that government is instituted among men in order to serve them, in order to protect them, to pursue their happiness and provide them safety. Philosophy 101.

SCB: Is there hope for the Philippines?

JPE: I would not have gone to EDSA if I did not think of the country. The Constitution says public officers and employees must at all times act with patriotism and justice. What is patriotism? Love of country, that’s the simplest definition. And what is justice? Biblically, it is translated as doing to others what you want others to do unto you. That’s how I simplify things in my life.

SCB: Even in the worst times that we’ve had, hindi nawawala ‘yung faith ninyo sa Pilipinas?

JPE: Hindi. I only have one country. I cannot go anywhere else. In fact, I cannot go to America. I’m banned from going there because I happened to be marked as a terrorist by the US government. I was suspected of having instigated all the coups that happened in the country.

SCB: Even now that you’re the Senate President?

JPE: That’s correct. They came here in January 2005, the representative of the US Embassy and told me, please do not use your multiple entry visa to avoid embarrassment. So I said, I have no intention in going to your country. I like my country better than yours.

SCB: It’s more fun in the Philippines?

(laughs)

JPE: Well, yes. I agree.

SCB: There are talks that your son Jackie is running for the Senate. How do you think he can be on his own in this arena, away from your shadow?

JPE: He has always been on his own. I never tell him what to do as a politician. He reads more books than I do. He can speak better without any notes not because he is my son.

SCB: Do you think in most parts of your life in the government, you have been misunderstood?

JPE: I cannot expect all people to love me in the same manner I am hopeful that not all people will hate me. Because if you are going to think that all people will love you, you are crazy, there is no such thing.

SCB: Were you ever forced or coerced during Martial Law to do or say something that you did not want to do?

JPE: No, because I would never say anything that they did not want to say. In fairness to President Marcos, he did not ask me to do anything that in my judgment would be against my conscience and the law. And even if he did, I would not obey.

SCB: What about the “fake’’ assassination attempt on you?

JPE: That was not true. I never faked it. How could I fake an assassination for what? Martial Law was already on and there was no reason for me to create an incident to proclaim Martial Law. No way! It was already on.

SCB: Do you feel that time that you were one of the most feared men in the country?

JPE: I just prayed to God that one day they would understand, they would know the truth. In fact, many of the people who were arrested became my friends.

RATING THE PRESIDENTS

SCB: You’ve seen and worked with many of the country’s Presidents, who do you think is the best president the Philippines has ever had?

JPE: They are best in their own ways.

SCB: (Ferdinand) Marcos?

JPE: He was very intelligent. You cannot deny the fact that he did a lot of things that are until today being enjoyed by the Filipino people. Who brought rural electrification in the country? Who laced the country with all sorts of irrigation canals that increased the rice production of the country? Who constructed the road from Aparri to Zamboanga, a national highway?

SCB: Is Marcos being unfairly judged then?

JPE: I’m sure you read the Bible. According to the Bible, there’s no prophet that is believed in his own hometown. So only history can judge. The bias and prejudices will be gone, and people can evaluate you with more objectivity.

SCB: What about Cory Aquino?

JPE: Cory was a rallying point in her time. We have to accept the fact that she participated in restoring democratic freedom and freedom itself in the country. There are also things that could be said against her regime.

SCB: What about Fidel V. Ramos?

JPE: Well, good for him. He became President, although he was my subordinate for a long, long time.

SCB: That’s it (laughs)?

JPE: Well, he’s supposed to be a trustee of the nation according to his book (laughs).

SCB: What about your friend, Erap?

JPE: You know, Erap Estrada is a man of the people. You have to wonder how this man, unschooled as he was, didn’t have the education that you acquired, was able to fire up the imagination of the people who supported him. That’s an achievement. Very few people can do that. And they laugh at him for having authored one law – the Carabao Bill — which is now a boon to many people in the country. That’s why they’re best in their own ways.

SCB: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo?

JPE: GMA, whatever you may say, contributed to uplifting the economy of the country. She presided over the country and lifted the economy of the country. The exchange rate was hovering between 50 and beyond, it went down to P42 to the dollar. She increased the foreign currency reserves of the country. Beyond the problem of corruption, and of course, the question of election, you cannot deny the fact that she contributed.

SCB: President Noynoy Aquino.

JPE: He’s trying to reform. One thing you can say about him is that he is not corrupt. You can fault him for his working habits, but no one can say that he is not trying his best to reform the country. And it’s too short a time to judge him, although he’s already spent one and a half years of his six years. Once he reaches the halfway mark, his effectiveness will have to go down.

SCB: Will we be able to get rid of corruption during PNoy’s presidency?

JPE: I would say that that would be ultra optimism to expect that in six years you can wipe out corruption in a society anywhere in the world. You can minimize it, yes, you can put reforms in place. but to say that you have totally moralized the society in such a way that you have zero corruption? Only God can do that?

HAPPY SIYA!

SCB: How do you want this young generation to remember you? Martial Law babies would remember you as Marcos’ defense minister. But the youth today…

JPE: I just like them to remember me as a humble boy passing through this world who tried something to do good for his country.

SCB: Happy kayo ngayon?

JPE: Gusto ko happy ka (laughs). I’m happy that I’m still alive. Aren’t you? I have very simple taste. I eat very simple food. I have simple objectives, simple needs. I have very few friends. I seldom go out with barkada. I’m more at ease when I’m all alone, contemplating what life is.

SCB: Is there something in life that still scares you?

JPE: Life itself scares me. You do not know what happens to you tomorrow. I do not know if I will be able to talk to you later like this.

SCB: Death threats?

JPE: If you are being threatened by somebody over the phone, that’s silly. They won’t kill you (laughs). Nobody will tell you “I will kill you” if they’re really going to kill you.

SCB: A lot of people want to know the secret of your longevity.

JPE: Nothing. I eat anything – lechon, chicharon, kinilaw, jumping salad (laughs)

SCB: How many vitamins do you take in a day?

JPE: I have plenty of multivitamins. Vitamin C, vitamin B, B12, vitamin E, vitamin whatnot. In the evening my blood pressure is maintained at 110/50.

SCB: BP ‘yan ng bagets ah!

JPE: (Laughs)

SCB: May luho ba kayo?

JPE: Wala. The only thing I do is read. I read poems, I read books. Mostly books on philosophy, politics. I’m lousy with the computer.

SCB: Do you text? Prepaid pa rin?

JPE: (Laughs) You know, your ability to speak in English will be destroyed if you get used to texting.

SCB: A lot of young people know you and remember you because of your text load campaign.

JPE: Until now I’m watching the National Telecommunications Commission.

SCB: But why are you on prepaid service when you’re so rich?

JPE: Gusto ko mag-prepaid eh! At anong mayaman? How do you know that I’m mayaman (laughs)? What’s wrong with a prepaid line? At pareho rin, depending on your usage. I seldom use the telephone. If I want to talk to some people, I talk to them face to face. Especially when I’m plotting something (laughs).

SCB: (Laughs)

JPE: If you’re plotting and you’re doing it over text or on the phone, someone is always listening all the time (laughs).

SCB: When was the last time you went plotting?

JPE: That was a long time ago (laughs)!

SCB: (Laughs) Was it successful?

JPE: (Laughs)

JPE waxes poetic

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Have you ever spent a day without eating? Have you ever been affected by a disease when there was no doctor or medicine around you? I went through that. Have you ever stayed overnight under a tree without any cover through a rainy night?

Where would you like to live?

In my hometown, where I was born, where I grew up. There, it’s peaceful, it’s like paradise, incomparable. Nothing in the world can compare with it.

What’s your idea of earthly happiness?

You’re happy when you are free of worries.

Who is your favorite hero in fiction?

Bernardo Carpio! (Laughs). He is a legendary personality in our region, he is a fighter for justice and the downtrodden.

Who is your favorite hero in real life?

(Recites a poem) “My dreams, when life first opened to me, My dreams, when the hopes of youth beat high, Were to see thy lov’d face, O gem of the Orient sea, From gloom and grief, from care and sorrow free.” Who said that? That is The Last Farewell of Jose Rizal.

Who is your favorite character in history?

Abraham Lincoln. “If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how — the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what’s said against me won’t amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference.”

What quality do you most admire in a person?

The quality of being a man. “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too: If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, or being lied about, don’t deal in lies; Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise.’’ Who said that?

“If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings — nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much.’’ Who said that? You better read. That’s Rudyard Kipling. Have you ever heard of his poem “If”?

“If you can dream — -and not make dreams your master; If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim, If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same. If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken, twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, and stoop and build’em up with worn-out tools.’’

What’s your favorite pre-occupation?

I used to be a good dancer. I used to dance all kinds of tango. American tango, Tango Filipino, international tango Argentino, and tango Pulitiko! You know what is tango pulitiko? Atras abante! (Laughs)

What is your most marked characteristic?

To be quiet.

What do you most value in your friends?

Sincerity, candidness. I don’t like friends who are always praising me.

What is your principle defect?

Sometimes I am hot-headed. I blurt out what is in my mind and in my heart.

What is your idea of happiness?

To have a little of everything.

What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes?

Losing your honor.

What historical figures do you most despise?

Pontius Pilate. He cannot decide.

What is your present state of mind?

Thinking about the impeachment.

How would you like to die?

I would like to die when I am sleeping, I would just pass out to eternity.

Do you think you’re going to heaven?

I would quote to you a poem again. “Alike for those who for today prepare, And those that after some tomorrow stare, a Muezzin from the tower of darkness cries ’Fools! Your reward is neither here nor there.” Do you believe that?

“We are no other than a moving row, Of magic shadow-shapes that come and go round with the sun-illumined lantern held in midnight by the Master of the Show; But helpless Pieces of the Game He plays, Upon this Chequer-board of Nights and Days; Hither and thither moves, and checks, and slays, And one by one back in the Closet lays.”

If you could invite to dinner five people, dead or alive, who would they be and why?

I don’t know! I don’t invite people for dinner! (laughs) Probably, Jesus Christ, Elizabeth Taylor because she’s a very beautiful girl, and Adolf Hitler to find out what made him kill a lot of people. I would also invite Neil Tupas to tell him don’t show your cards! (laughs) He is not a good poker player. You know when you are a prosecutor or defense lawyer in a case, don’t tell the other side what you have!