Juan Ponce Enrile - Secretary of Defense

Secretary of Defense

In 1970, he was appointed Secretary of the Department of National Defense. He left his post in 1971 to run unsuccessfully for a Senate seat.

Enrile was appointed Defense Chief in 1972. One of Marcos' justifications for the declaration of martial law that year was terrorism. He cited the alleged ambush attack on Enrile's car on September 21, 1972.

In 1973, under the new modified parliamentary system then in place under the country's new constitution, Enrile's title became Defense Minister. As Defense Minister, he presided over the Executive Committee of the National Security Council, making him one of the prime architects of Marcos' martial rule. As a requirement for his position as part of the cabinet under the parliamentary system, he won an election for assemblyman representing Cagayan Valley for the Interim Batasang Pambansa in 1978.

As the 1980s began, Marcos began to disregard Enrile's authority as defense secretary when he changed the chain of command in the military. Under the new chain of command, the authority would evolve from him as president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces to his trusted military officer, General Fabian Ver, then the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Meaning, Enrile was bypassed and officers with close ties with him were being removed from command positions or being demoted and sometimes, would be retired forcibly from military service.

After opposition leader Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. was assassinated on August 21, 1983, Enrile started to break away from the increasingly unpopular Marcos dictatorship. He began aligning himself with dissident elements in the army, particularly the Reform the Armed Forces Movement - which was then headed by his Aide-de-camp, Lt. Col. Gregorio Honasan. Officers from this group, with Enrile's support, launched a coup d’état against Marcos in February 1986.

Marcos was alerted to the plot by then General Ver, and the conspirators took refuge in two military camps. From there, Ponce Enrile and then Lt. General Fidel Ramos, the head of the defunct Philippine Constabulary (was integrated with the INP to form the Philippine National Police) and concurrently vice-chief of staff of the armed forces, rallied opponents against Marcos in a citizens' revolt that became known as the People Power Revolution.

At the same time, Enrile revealed details of the public deception he had perpetuated while serving in the Marcos government. This included being aware of fraudulent voting in the 1986 presidential election and faking an assassination attempt on his own life in 1972, which helped provide Marcos with the justification for declaring martial law.

Juan Ponce Enrile emerged as one of the heroes of the People Power Movement, although the reasons for his involvement with the movement were highly disputed. In the post-martial law era, rumors spread that Ramos and Enrile were among those involved in Aquino's assassination. It is alleged that, in order not to be accused along with the Marcoses, the two plotted a coup against the president.

Enrile served as Secretary of National Defense under Corazon Aquino, who had replaced Marcos as president, but he increasingly differed with Aquino, specifically on the administration's handling of insurgent leftist opposition. As a result, he was forced to resign as Defense Secretary in November 1986.