‘How do you keep your mind sharp?’ I asked Juan Ponce Enrile. He said, ‘Why, I read poems. Right now, I am memorizing “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.” You people have a problem. If you lost your phone and I lent you mine, who would you call? You don’t even have your own number in your memory.’ —AA Patawaran, on the 60th wedding anniversary of Juan Ponce Enrile and Cristina Enrile in September, 2017
The immortal Juan
PHLPost Office gifts special stamp for the centenarian Juan Ponce Enrile’s 100th birthday
Feb 20, 2024 02:50 PM
At a glance
Living to 100 years is no easy feat, but Juan Ponce Enrile, chief presidential legal consultant, makes it look like cakewalk. Folks online have jokingly referred to him as “the immortal Juan,” having outlived other famous celebrities and figures known for their old age like Queen Elizabeth II and Betty White.
Now, the centenarian politician is immortalized through his very own personalized stamp set by the PHLPost Office. The stamp set was presented to Enrile during the celebration of his 100th birthday at Malacañang Palace on Feb. 14, 2024. It commemorates over six decades of his service to the country, having started in the 1960s, when he served as finance undersecretary under former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. Since then, Enrile has spent four terms in the Senate. He became the 21st senate president during the 15th Congress from 2008 to 2013. In 2022, at the age of 98, he returned to government office as the chief presidential legal counsel to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“Living to 100 years old is one of life’s greatest achievements, and definitely a milestone worth celebrating. We pay tribute to JPE whose political career has spanned over six decades,” says Postmaster General Luis Carlos. “His collective wisdom and experience are an inspiration to us all.”
The basis for the issuance of the PHLPost personalized stamps to Filipino centenarians is Republic Act 10868, otherwise known as the Centenarian Act of 2016, which honors and grants additional benefits and privileges to Filipino centenarians. PHLPost has been coordinating with local government units to include in their program the issuance of the personalized centenarian stamps. This is the postal agency’s own corporate social responsibility (CSR) in honoring the country’s Filipino centenarians.