Fear not Enrile, says daughter Katrina

Senator Juan Ponce Enrile. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA

Who’s afraid of Juan Ponce Enrile?

As far as his daughter Katrina is concerned, no one should be.

Enrile is returning to the Senate Monday as minority leader following his temporary release on a P1.4-million bail while the plunder case against him is being tried.

“What are they afraid of? My father will not do anything. He will just work. There is nothing to fear,” Katrina said in a radio interview on Sunday.

She said that during her father’s detention for over one year, he had just been quiet and the family was equally quiet because they were just waiting for his day in court.

Enrile has been charged with pocketing P172 million in kickbacks in connection with the diversion of his allocations from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), a pork barrel, in schemes allegedly masterminded by detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles. He has denied wrongdoing.

“It’s in the court. So let the wheels of justice take its course. I do not understand why the fear of him going back to the Senate … . My father has not been making any statements. What do they want for me to tell, ‘Dad, shut up’? What do they want?” Katrina said.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, an administration ally who has locked horns with Enrile on the Senate floor, has said that Enrile’s return could be a “game changer” in the final months of President Aquino’s administration.

Enrile’s resumption of his duties in the Senate coincides with the plenary on the proposed charter for a Bangsamoro entity, centerpiece of a peace agreement signed last year between the Aquino administration and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Sen. Vicente Sotto III said Enrile’s presence was “very timely,” pointing out the start of debates on the 2016 national budget and the substitute bill on the administration’s draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

The Palace timetable on the proposed BBL has been delayed following the massacre of 44 police commandos on Jan. 25 while on a mission to take out international terrorists in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province, under MILF control.

“Enrile never relinquished his post as Senate minority leader,” Sotto said. “I was in acting capacity because I am deputy or assistant minority leader.”

The 91-year-old Enrile walked out of hospital detention on Thursday after he was granted bail on humanitarian grounds by the Supreme Court.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has said the government should appeal the Supreme Court ruling granting Enrile bail. Malacañang said Aquino wanted the ruling clarified because it was “essentially unchartered territory.”

‘Banana republic’

De Lima said Enrile’s release set back the state of the country’s justice system to that of a “banana republic,” noting that the court decision favored the elite.

On Sunday, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigal Valte said the Palace legal team would review the court ruling and “see how we can move forward from it.”

“This is a new doctrine. There is really much clarification that would be necessary, especially relative to the parameters of the bail,” Valte said over state radio.

Katrina said she understood De Lima’s sentiments as justice secretary.

“They have to understand that every Filipino has rights, including my father, whether they like my father or not, he is a Filipino, he has rights, he has human rights,” Katrina said in the radio interview.

She declined to comment on the Palace moves against her father. “It’s a little tiring to do so,” she said.

Sen. JV Ejercito said he was looking forward to Enrile’s return to the Senate.

Rejuvenated bloc

Ejercito, one of four members of the minority that included Enrile, Sotto and Sen. Nancy Binay, said Enrile would be a big help to the opposition bloc that had been decimated. Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla are under detention in connection with the pork barrel scam.

Ejercito told a radio station that the high court had stated its reasons for granting Enrile his bail petition.

“As I’ve always said, we are a government of laws. Let’s respect the decision,” he said.

Ejercito reiterated the need for the Palace to respect the ruling as well. He said President Aquino’s statement that the court ruling should be reviewed was “quite scary.”

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