Camille Naredo

Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro and AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. give their eulogy during the necrological service for the late former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, held in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on November 19, 2025. Lyza Aquino, ABS-CBN News

Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro and AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. give their eulogy during the necrological service for the late former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, held in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on November 19, 2025.

Article (news)

Lyza Aquino

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1763562526993viber_image_2025-11-19_19-03-39-252.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro and AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. give their eulogy during the necrological service for the late former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, held in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on November 19, 2025. Lyza Aquino, ABS-CBN News"/>Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro and AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. give their eulogy during the necrological service for the late former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, held in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on November 19, 2025. Lyza Aquino, ABS-CBN News</div>MANILA -- Government officials, defense leaders, and members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday afternoon gathered at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City for a necrological service to honor the late former Senate President and former Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile.Enrile’s casket arrived at the headquarters at 2 p.m. where <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/19/dnd-renderd-military-honors-for-ex-defense-chief-enrile-2059">the military rendered arrival honors</a>, led by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.Following the short ceremony, the casket was brought to the Bulwagang Tejeros at the AFP Commissioned Officers&#x27; Club for a mass and necrological service at around 5 p.m.Among attendees there were Enrile’s former aides, family members, Secretary Teodoro and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr.Enrile, who served as Minister of National Defense under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., was commemorated for his enduring impact on national security, governance, and public service over a career that spanned generations.General Brawner, during his eulogy, recalled Enrile’s mentorship and guidance in matters of national defense, particularly amid maritime tensions and foreign influence challenges.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/14/juan-ponce-enrile-martial-law-architect-and-political-survivor-1751">READ: Juan Ponce Enrile, Martial Law architect and political survivor</a></div>“He was a mentor. And he inspired me a lot to do good as a chief of staff. And one advice that stuck to my heart was when he said, ‘As chief of staff, it is your duty to make sure that our country is stable’,” Brawner recalled.Brawner said Enrile emphasized the need to strengthen territorial defense in addition to internal security: “Pinag-usapan po namin ’yung mga ginagawang bullying tactics ng China, and their influence operations here in the country. At ang sinabi niya sa akin, ‘Huwag mong payagan, huwag mong payagan na sila ang manaig dito sa ating bansa.’”He added that these words continue to guide his decisions: “His life is a reminder that love of country is not measured by a moment, but by a lifetime… to work quietly when the public is not watching, and to stand firm when the nation most needs steadiness.”Secretary Teodoro, who described Enrile as both a mentor and a member of his extended family, noted that both their families entered public service in 1966 and shared an academic lineage through the University of the Philippines College of Law and Harvard Law School, where Enrile completed his Master of Laws and the International Tax Program. He remembered Enrile’s early struggles, including surviving violent attacks in his youth and fighting in the war, despite never claiming veterans’ benefits.“He survived several struggles,” Teodoro said, recounting how Enrile rebuilt his legal career after returning from Harvard and later confronted the upheavals of the First Quarter Storm, the communist insurgency, and separatist movements in Mindanao.He emphasized the limited resources of the time: Mindanao had “one brigade, actually a brigade minus,” requiring reinforcements from Cebu to prevent the region from falling into unrest.Teodoro also cited Enrile’s resilience through the 1974 economic and fuel crisis, political shifts, technological changes, and eventual health challenges.“In all of these struggles… he had the indomitable spirit of never giving up,” Teodoro said. “He faced the struggle squarely, head on, looked it in the eye and said, ‘I’m trying to get you.’ And until age caught up with him, he had always succeeded.”Enrile’s daughter, Katrina Ponce Enrile, expressed her gratitude to everyone who attended the service.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/19/senate-holds-necrological-service-for-enrile-0918">READ: Senate holds necrological service for Juan Ponce Enrile</a></div><div><a class="fr-strong fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/19/senate-honors-juan-ponce-enrile-one-last-time-1405">READ: Senate honors Juan Ponce Enrile, one last time</a></div>Reflecting on her father’s decades of service in Camp Aguinaldo, she said, “The longest serving Minister of National Defense our country has known. While history will debate his public life in its many chapters, there is one truth that transcended political lines. When leaders needed wisdom, regardless of party, ideology, or past, they found their way to my father’s door.”She noted that Enrile welcomed even those who once opposed him: “Those who had marched in the streets against him came too. Because here’s what they knew: When you knock on Juan Ponce Enrile’s door with love for country in your heart, he would answer.”Katrina Ponce Enrile emphasized that her father served as a “keeper of institutional memory,” helping prevent conflicts and redirect countless lives. “This was his final revolution, not of arms or loss, but of peace,” she said.She admitted that her family felt the weight of grief as the year came to a close: “Personally, I do not feel like finishing the year with celebrations. But we must. Because my father believed that a nation’s strength lies not in mourning its giants, but in becoming them. The work continues, he would say. The Philippines continues.”In closing, she vowed to preserve her father’s legacy: “We will not let his wisdom become sheer memory. We will not let his door close. We gather not to mourn the man, he would hate that but to make a promise that the wisdom he gave so freely will not die with him.”Enrile <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/13/juan-ponce-enrile-passes-away-1733">died on November 13</a>, at the age of 101.

Government officials, defense leaders, and members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday afternoon gathered at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City for a necrological service to honor the late former Senate President and former Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile.

Government officials, defense leaders, and members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday afternoon gathered at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City for a necrological service to honor the late former Senate President and former Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile.

Gov't officials honor Enrile at necrological rites in Camp Aguinaldo

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Gov't officials honor Enrile at necrological rites in Camp Aguinaldo

Lyza Aquino,

ABS-CBN News

Published November 19, 2025 10:31 PM PHT

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Updated November 19, 2025 11:34 PM PHT

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Juan Ponce Enrile

Camp Aguinaldo

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