Eulogy of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for the late Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile

Thank you very much. A good morning. I am, of course, going to say good morning but it’s not good morning.

So, a sad morning to all of us. But welcome to the Palace and I’m glad that we are able to do this. [Please take your seats.]

I am tasked to give some form of eulogy for Tito Johnny and to the remembrances of his life.

But mine will only be a small voice together with the voices of the greats, the icons of our history, of our legislature, of our legal system, of our jurisprudence.

It just goes to show that he has touched a part – every part of Philippine society. And not just touched, but influenced it greatly.

And he worked very hard to always do that for the good. And so there are many commentators who can better express the greatness in those grand settings that I mentioned to Tito Johnny. So perhaps, what I can contribute is how I knew – how I knew Tito Johnny.

And I’d more – perhaps a more – maybe a more intimate portrait of well, a child and a boy and finally a grown-up and now a President.

I don’t actually remember the day that I met Tito Johnny.

That somebody said to me – that my father probably would say, “This is your Tito Johnny.” I don’t remember anything like that.

What I do know is that since we came to live in this palace, he was a constant fixture in my life. He was always here. He was always there.

And we didn’t – it was such a close relationship between our families that it wasn’t just at work here in the offices here.

But when I saw you today Katrina, I remembered we used to spend Easter in Baguio together. And yeah, Jack, you remember that. And that was how intimately close we were.

But he was, you know, he was my dad’s – my dad’s guy, and although you could tell, that he had a special place even in my father’s heart, only because…And the reason I say that is because there are very few people that I saw my father not give just instructions to, but listen to. He was one of those very few people. I know you know some of the others, but he certainly was one of those.

But we – and that was the – that was my impression of him as a boy. And Tito Johnny was always there at the – in the office when my father would call for me, at dinners, at social events, at formal events, ceremonies, et cetera.

And – but I never really worked with him until one time, we were both on the board of a company and we were talking about a very large project.

And his signature fashion, he didn’t say very much. He just sat there, he was looking through his notes and spoke up, and said, “Okay, that’s fine. But this is what you need to do. You have missed certain things.” It was mainly about taxation.

And on that – after that meeting, we looked at all of his suggestions and all of his insights, and we said, we just missed all of this, and he’s exactly right. And he saved the company a great deal of money.

And so I went home, and a couple of days later, I spoke to my dad, and I said, “Dad, you know, we were having a board meeting, and Tito Johnny came up with this.”

And he said, “Why? What did he say?”

And I said, ganito, ganyan – ganito, ganyan, kailangan gawin ganito.

And he said, “Tama ‘yan. Sundan mo ‘yan. Marunong ‘yan. Magaling talaga ‘yan.”

And that was the first time we actually worked together.

And so after that, I was – I ended up in Ilocos Norte so we didn’t see each other very much.

The next time that we came back after…You know, it was also very – very a little bit… I wasn’t sure how it would go when we came back around 1991 after – when we came back from exile.

Because after the events of February ‘86, we found ourselves on the opposite sides of the barricade. Let me put it that way.

And so it was always a little – I was always a little, “What will I do when I see Tito Johnny? How is it going to be? Will he be angry with me? Will he be very ano – will it be awkward?” It wasn’t. It wasn’t.

The relationship that we had forged between his family, my family, between himself, my father, between him and us, just took over.

And it was as if, you know, we were just – we had met – we just left each other one week ago and we came and we started work.

So, we started working together as congressmen in the 14th Congress and that’s when I started working with him, and I remembered that this is one of the smartest people I know.

So, I’d always pick his brain. I’d always go – and he taught me. He was my tutor. He was my mentor. And then I went – I went to Ilocos Norte as governor. Of course, I was living there. And then I came back and became congressman again but he was already in the Senate.

But I found myself in the Senate together with him. And once again, he was my mentor.

And because, first of all, it was – I always found it easy to talk to him because I was so familiar with him. So, I would always go and ask him question and once again, I said, “Who’s the smartest fellow in the room? Let’s go pick his brain.” That’s always my technique.

Who’s the smartest fellow in this room? Let’s go pick –fellow or lady in this room – let’s go pick their brain. And that’s what I do.

And he would – tinuturuan talaga ako niyan. But the depth and breadth of his knowledge and his understanding was just remarkable.

I remember people in the Senate would come and say, “I am so and so – I come from this little town in the middle of nowhere.”

“Oh, I remember, I was… How is Lola like this?”And how’s the people that came from the [inaudible], you know, because when I was there… Ikuwento niya lahat. Hindi niya nakalimutan ang mga pangalan. Hindi niya nakalimutan ‘yung mga nangyari, hindi niya nakalimutan kahit isa sa mga nakilala niyang tao. Kung ano…Kahit isa sa mga pangyayari.

It was just amazing. And I couldn’t – I couldn’t – I aspired. I said to – I – just a little part of that understanding and of that wisdom that he had acquired. Because Tito Johnny never took anything lightly.

He was a very serious person. Everything that came to him, he would think about very hard. He would study about very, very hard. And he will not – until he has some conclusions, he will not say anything until his thoughts are totally formed and completely formed.

And that was why he is such a good lawyer. Such – he was such a good congressman, such a good senate president.

And he was good at – wherever he found himself, he took the job very, very seriously. He studied very, very hard.

And so during the Senate, I remember, he took me by surprise once in the Senate. We were discussing the Bangsamoro Basic Law. And he was interpolating me because I am sponsoring the – a substitute bill.

And so he said, “Bong, I am going – Bongbong.” Bongbong ang tawag niya sa akin. “ Bongbong, dito ka. Ako – interpolate-in (interpolate) kita ha. So, you be ready, because I got da, da, da.”

Okay. So, we were in the middle of this interpolation. And, suddenly, out of nowhere, he started asking me about Quranic studies. Because we were talking about the BBL.

I have nothing. I have no background in that. Buti na lang, during – while I was –I was on the podium, next to me sitting was one of my advisors who was a Muslim imam.

So, “anong sabi niya? Ano ba ‘yung sagot? Ano ba ‘yung sagot?” Buti na lang.

So, nung nag-suspend kami, I go up to him. “Tito naman, bakit mo naman ako tinanong ng mga Quranic studies?” “Eh, dapat pinag-aralan mo ‘yan. You should know these things. You should know…” Napagalitan pa ako.

“You should know these things. You should know these things.”

“Yes, Tito, you’re absolutely right. I should.”

Then, pati ‘yung pagsagot ko, tinuturuan ako. Ganito ang pagsagot mo para maintindihan ng tao. You should do this like this, and like that, and like this and like that.

And so that – that was our whole relationship and even when he was a senate president, he would still find the time to come down and you know, give me advice and guide me. And I considered myself very, very lucky.

And this continued, because after the Vice Presidential Election, nagpapatulong ako sa kanya sa protesta ko. So, I would go and see him sa bahay niyo. I would go and see him and I said, “Tito, patulong naman.” Ganiyan, ganiyan. “What do you think we should do? How do you think we should approach this? Who are the people we should talk to?”

Sabi niya, “I can help you. I’ll do this. I’ll do that. I’ll do this.”

But I never left your house without a reading list. It was like going back to school. Parang I went to see my tutor in university. Because we talk about all kinds of things. And then at the end, bago ako umalis, “Bong, dito ka muna.” And he give me some books and a list of other books that he wants me to read.

And, so I take them home and – because I’m sure, wala namang… And you know, the subject matter was so diverse, was so – yeah, wide-ranging. You – he would talk about the battle for world resources, what will happen after Gaza, the oil crisis, the economic crisis, et cetera. ‘Yung talagang – kahit lahat – even philosophical – philosophical works.

And these are books – I’m sure all of you have experienced this – that you cannot just read. After you read it the first time, you say, teka, hindi ko kaya masyado, medyo mahirap. You have to read it maybe three times before you understand exactly what the author is trying to say. So, I would – I would read them.

And you cannot just say – ‘pag sinabi – he doesn’t – he never asked when I see him again. He never asked, “Did you read the books?” No. He goes straight to the point. “What did you think of his idea na ganito, ganiyan, ganiyan?” In other words, kung hindi mo binasa, huli ka talaga.

But they were such good books. And it was like – back in – I was always – when I was with Tito Johnny, I was always in school. I was always learning something. I was always making myself better. He was always making me, “You read this. You get better at this.” He was always pushing. He always challenged. He never let you coast. He always challenged you.

And that’s why when I took office, when he – he continued to say that you know, if you need any help, it became natural that I asked him to be the

the legal advisor to the president. Because I could not think of a better place for him and a better man for the job.

And I’m glad that I did, because every so often, we would – I would come here – I’d come to the office, and there’d be a little note, JPE says he needs to see you.

Whenever that happens, that’s – you better go and see him immediately because he doesn’t do that. He will do that only if it’s very important. So, I go straight to his office and of course, he would say, “what you are about to do is a big mistake, you cannot do that, it’s illegal, it’s not this, it’s not proper. He’s like da, da, da…”

But with him it’s not only criticism. The way around it is this. This is the solution to your problem. Laging may sagot. Because every – you – he was just such a good lawyer, he could argue either side of the question and make a good argument of that.

However, the one principle – the line that he never crossed was that…You know, he would say, “Well, how do you like – how would you like us to argue this? Where would – what would you like – what’s the result – what’s your ideal result to all of this?” And I tell him – I said, “sana magkaganito, sana maayos natin ng ganiyan.” And he would do it and he would do it exceedingly well. Better than most anyone that I knew.

I always kept thinking how every time I would sit down, it’s like talking to my dad. And perhaps the osmosis between the two of them, they all – they rubbed off on each other. But that intellectual, the standard – the intellectual standard that they would set for themselves and for you, if you expected to talk to them, was the same, was exceedingly high.

And it’s not because they’re mayabang or they’re showing off how smart they are and how much they know. It’s because that is the only way to truly solve a problem. You have to think about it very, very deeply.

‘Wag kang – ‘wag mong minamadali. ‘Wag mong minamadali. Pag-aralan mo nang mabuti. You talk to everybody that you can talk to.

The striving for excellence in everything that he did was something that he even passed on to us. And he said, “Not just me, you should strive for excellence too.”

And we have many, many stories. Those of you who have attended our –some of our meetings upstairs. And Tito Johnny would be there sitting next to me. And we all think he’s already sleeping.

Kasi nakaganoon. Nakatungo lang siya na ganiyan. Then suddenly, he would say, “wait, you’re missing something.” And let’s say we’re talking about some places.

“When I wrote the law for creating that facility, what we meant to do was da, da, da – was behind that.”

“When I argued that the case in the Supreme Court and the da, da, da…”

He was… And his insights were way beyond our understanding. And the contributions that he made when he was a legal counsel to the president were unfathomable. Are so – there’s no way that we can quantify, we can somehow measure the importance of what he did.

And so, until the very end, the remarkable thing about Tito Johnny is that he – until the very end, he never stopped working. His brain – his brain kept working. He still – until the last day that I spoke to him, ganoon pa rin ‘yung kaniyang memory, ganoon pa rin ‘yung kaniyang cognitive ability. Ganoon pa rin ‘yung… His brain was a 20-year-old brain in a 100-year-old body.

Oh, by the way, the 100-year-old body when we celebrated – the video that you saw, where we celebrated his 100th year, after that, you know, I said, Tito – I kept asking. “Tito, what’s the secret? How do you stay young like you, you know?” And he just smiled and never really said anything.

And so, of course again, during his birthday celebration. I said, “Tito, ano bang sikreto? I want to be like you also when I’m – and first, I want live to 100 years old. And I want to be like you when I’m 100 years old.”

And then sabi niya, “Alam mo anak, I’m not sure that I’m 100 years old. I think I’m older.” Sabi ko, “Bakit?” “Nawala ‘yung records ko sa giyera.”

But eventually, I found – apparently, Katrina just told me that they – he found his papers eventually. And ladies and gentlemen, this man was 103 years old, which is even more remarkable.

But the one thing in all of his maneuverings, in all of his very clever ways of getting his best result of helping us, of helping everyone, the one line that I noticed that he never crossed was this.

When he believed in his heart of hearts that what you were trying to do was against the national interest, he would remove himself. And he’d say, “I do not agree with this. You go ahead and do what you think is proper, but I cannot be part of this.” And that was – that was Tito Johnny all the way.

He was – after that being the genius of a lawyer, after being a long-serving – taking all the very important positions in all the departments of government, the legislature, the judiciary, and the executive. After all that, the most important part of him was his being a national servant. And that’s how he saw himself. We are here to serve.

And therefore, we will do everything that we can to make the system work. But I cannot be part of anything that I believe is against the national interest. And that is the core of Tito Johnny and it is a lesson that we all learned from. We learned from many people, but we also learned it from him. And it was an important, important part of his being.

Do will we in our lifetimes find another person like this? I don’t think so. I don’t think so. Not in my lifetime. Maybe you guys. Younger people who will meet some other genius, some other remarkable person such as this. But I will not. Not in my lifetime. Not anymore.

I’d – he was – he was what we now –the phrase we now use is that he was “old school.” Old school. He was an old gentleman. He was old school. He was always correct. He was always proper. He was always – every time…And he showed up to everything. Even the kids’ birthday party, basta you invited him, he’d come.

Which – I said,“Tito, you didn’t have to come.”“Of course, I did. Of course, I have to greet everybody, and like this…” And that – but that was the man he was. He was devoted to his work. He was devoted to his family. He was devoted to the country.

And there is no higher praise that I can make of anyone that I know that has served in government, that has served the country. There is no greater praise for anyone than to say that he lived, he was willing to die, he was willing to bleed for the country. And that’s what we will miss. Perhaps we don’t find so many of those people anymore.

So, as we grieve the loss of JPE, let us also be grateful that at some time in the history of the Philippines, there was a man who devoted his entire being to the service of the Filipino. [unclear] that we – the rest of us could be

able to do even a little bit of what he had done.

But we must all follow that example that he gave to us. We must always remember the benefits, the contributions that he made to the Filipinos, to the Philippines.

And that is how I will remember Tito Johnny. He is my Tito. He is – I hope – I couldn’t say he was my friend, he was certainly my mentor. And – but overall, overall he was a Filipino in the purest and best sense of being a Filipino where every molecule of his being was devoted to the service of the Filipino people.

And so, not such a good morning, because we have to say goodbye to JPE.

I’m looking at him – I was looking during the mass, and I’m still waiting for him to pipe up and say, “Wait, you guys forgot something. [laughter] When I made that law, this is what we were doing.”

I’m sorry to see – to think that he’s not going to do that anymore.

So, goodbye Tito Johnny. Thank you for everything that you have done for me, for my family, even at the time for my dad. And thank you for what you have done for the country.

We will never forget you. Bye bye. [applause]

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