MANILA, Philippines — As the Senate adjourned sine die on Monday, June 6, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile officially announced his retirement from public service.
The 92-year old veteran lawmaker thanked his colleagues, staff and the Filipino people for supporting him during his term in the Senate.
From 1966 to 1968, he was the Undersecretary and sometime Acting Secretary of the Department of Finance under then President Ferdinand Marcos.
He concurrently became acting Insurance Commissioner and Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs. From 1968 to 1970, he was the Secretary of Justice.
In 1970 Enrile was appointed Secretary of the Department of National Defense, but left his post in 1971 to run unsuccessfully for a Senate seat. He was appointed Defense Chief in 1972.
Enrile won a seat in the Senate in May 1987, becoming one of two opposition members in the country’s 24-member Senate.
Enrile’s public service spanned for more than half a century. (Eagle News)