In February 1986, in a press conference with then Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Fidel V. Ramos in which they announced their defection to the opposition, Enrile admitted that he had faked his own ambush in 1972 to provide a scare scenario that would justify the declaration of martial law shortly after.
Enrile briefly served as defense secretary under the Corazon Aquino government until he was sacked for his alleged role in a coup plot. He won a Senate seat in 1987. In 1995, he ran for and won a seat in the House, representing his province of Cagayan. Three years later, he won in the senatorial elections.
When Imelda Marcos celebrated her birthday in 1998, Enrile was among the well-wishers present. He was caught on TV getting a pat on the back from the former first lady, who said: “This man is actually a Marcos boy.”
He ran again for senator in 2001 but lost, and would win another Senate term three years later.
The senator from Cagayan has boasted in several media interviews of having himself issued a number of arrest, search and seizure orders against opposition figures during Martial Law. He is one of the most vocal proponents of the Anti-Terrorism Bill, which human rights advocates have denounced as running counter to civil liberties.
Another vocal proponent of the Anti-Terrorism Bill is Lacson, who is reportedly planning to run for Manila mayor in 2007.
Lacson joined the Military Intelligence and Security Group (MISG) upon graduation from the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) in 1971. McCoy, in Closer than Brothers, said that Lacson, together with fellow MISG officers Roberto Ortega (father of former actress Michelle Ortega) and the late Rolando Abadilla “tortured together” for more than a decade.
A senator since 2001, he ran for president in 2004 but lost in what appeared to be a massively fraud-ridden poll. He joined some of the big anti-Arroyo rallies in 2005.
The Estradas and De Venecia
Estrada was mayor of San Juan for nearly two decades during the Marcos presidency. He was a senator from 1987 to 1992, and vice president from 1992 to 1998. He ran for president in 1998, and won.
He has never been unabashed in his sympathy for the Marcoses, and to prove the point one of his first announcements after his proclamation as president-elect in 1998 was on his decision to have Marcos’ remains buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani – an announcement that drew fire from human rights activists and their allies. He had to take back his announcement in the wake of the massive public indignation that it generated.
But throughout his presidency he was always on a collision course with public opinion because of his government’s alleged corruption and anti-people policies. He was ousted in 2001 in what has since become known as the People Power II uprising.
Nevertheless, he continues to wield power through his wife Loi Estrada, who managed to get a Senate seat in the May 2001 elections, and two of his sons. His son with businesswoman Guia Gomez, JV (Jose Victor), became mayor of San Juan in 2001 and is now on his second term, and he emerged as 10th in the July 2006 Pulse Asia survey on senatorial preferences. Meanwhile, his son with Loi, Jinggoy, is now also a senator – accompanying his mother who has managed to win a second term.
Like Lacson, the Estradas are also active in rallies against the Arroyo administration. They are able to send large contingents to these rallies.
De Venecia was not on the political limelight during the Marcos years, then being a businessman. But he saw his fortunes grow during that time, his Landoil Resources being a beneficiary of behest loans together with the many companies owned by notorious tax evader Lucio Tan.
He has managed to stick to his position as Speaker of the House of Representatives, which he first attained in 1995 – the only interruption being in 1998-2001. He had run for president in 1998 but lost.
He is the most vocal proponent of charter change and the proposed shift in the form of government from presidential to parliamentary. It is now common knowledge that he intends to become prime minister under a parliamentary system.
Still much work
Marcos has been dead for 17 years and, if plans push through, is about to be buried. But his relatives and allies are still very much active in the political scene. That they continue to wield influence 20 years after the ouster of their patron and 17 years after his death proves that there is still much work to be done. (Bulatlat.com)
