Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile celebrates his 100th birthday, February 14, with President Bongbong Marcos and senators. Photo courtesy of Senate President Juan Miguel ZubiriMANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Wednesday hosted the 100th birthday celebration of Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile in Malacañang, calling the former Senate President an “icon in the pantheon of Philippine history.”

Enrile at 100: Quotes from Philippines' oldest Cabinet official

 Former Presidents Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo were among those who attended the birthday lunch for the Philippines’ oldest government official.

“People who have survived a hundred years, we already applaud them just for surviving a hundred years... But to have a life that has reached 100 years that is full of achievement, that is full of purpose, that is full of service, that is full of duty makes this celebration a much more remarkable one than it would normally be,” Marcos said during the luncheon in honor of Enrile.

“He has attained the status of an icon in the pantheon of Philippine history. Although it was not true that he was a member of the Malolos Republic,” the President said in jest, citing viral Enrile memes.

Enrile served as a defense chief of Marcos Jr.’s father and namesake, former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

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 Marcos Jr. revealed that Enrile was among those whom he sought for advice when he contested the victory of Leni Robredo in the 2016 vice presidential race.

 “He would provide me of course the best advice that I could get,” he said.

“But before I would leave he always left me a reading list… mga limang libro.”

 “Basahin mo ito and if you read all of these books, you will be ready to be president,” he added. 

 Marcos Jr. also recalled their time in the Senate when he saw Enrile reading a poetry book.

When asked if he liked poetry, Enrile then said: “I know nothing about poetry… I want to use parts of my brain that I do not normally use.”

“That is why Tito Johnny continues to be a pond of sage advice, a pond of knowledge, a source of an understood experience over a lifetime of all that he has done,” the President said.

“He is a remarkable person and I’m just so happy to have known him… I must admit to have him in my corner, gives me, allows me to sleep better at night than if he were not there,” he said.

Years after the Marcos dictatorship ended, Enrile — who is also a lawyer — entered politics and eventually became a senator.

In 2011, he led the Senate in hearing the impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona.

“I want to be as smart as you, as clever as you, at 100 years old, and as active as you are at 100 years old, continuing to provide service to your country, continuing to give good advice, continuing to guide the way the Philippines can go,” Marcos Jr. told Enrile. 

The President also shared Enrile’s answer when asked for his secret in remaining sharp even at 100.

“He says, ‘I don’t know because I don’t feel like 100. I still feel the same,’” Marcos Jr. said, quoting his chief legal counsel.

“I guess that’s the secret, that you don’t think about it very much.”