Enrile: Life is a roller coaster

MANILA, Philippines - Hailed as a hero and pilloried as a heel at various times in his long government career, Juan Ponce Enrile is taking in stride the latest hurdle along his path.

The Senate minority leader often says that “life is like a roller coaster; sometimes you’re up and sometimes you’re down.”

This is according to Enrile’s son Jack, a former congressman.

The charges filed against Senator Enrile in relation to the pork barrel fund scam are just another bump on the road which he is optimistic they would hurdle soon enough, his son told reporters the other night.

The younger Enrile also said this is nothing new to his father, who has been in government for almost 50 years, and that the senator is confident he would be cleared of the charges.

The younger Enrile was with local government officials of Cagayan province who visited the elder Enrile at the Senate to air their support for him.

Quoting his father again, Enrile said that the senator still has faith in the justice system and that if he is given a fair trial, he would be cleared of the charges.

Sen. Enrile has argued that there is no evidence to back up the allegations made against him and that the testimonies provided by the whistle-blowers are all hearsay.

But the younger Enrile admitted that he wants the case to end as soon as possible, although he believes that his father is still strong enough to handle his current ordeal and see it through.

“His name and our family’s name will be cleared,” the younger Enrile said.

As part of the various motions filed by Sen. Enrile before the Sandiganbayan in relation to his cases, it was argued that he should be granted bail for several reasons, including his advanced age.

It was also argued that Sen. Enrile is not a flight risk and that he requires constant medical attention because of his poor and frail physical condition.

According to his son, Sen. Enrile requires regular injections to his eyes, which must be administered by his doctor. He is also now hard of hearing that he would sometimes be disoriented and lose his balance.

Enrile’s son added that his father also has reactive high blood pressure, meaning under stress his blood pressure would shoot up.