MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said he is "happy" to work with former Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile even if the veteran politician helped oust his father during the 1986 People Power Revolution.

Enrile, the former Defense minister of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., helped topple the Marcos dictatorship in 1986, but is now serving Marcos Jr. as presidential legal adviser.

• Marcos picks Enrile as Presidential Legal Counsel

“We have talked about it so often and to me, it didn't seem to be an attack on my father," he said when asked how he felt about Enrile and the late president Fidel V. Ramos leading a military coup at the 1986 EDSA Revolution.

"Hindi ganun ang pagkatrato niya (Enrile). He thought he was really defending the country in some way," he said, claiming that he was privy to conversations between Enrile and Marcos Sr.

Marcos Jr. said he and Enrile have often discussed what happened in 1986, noting that he still continues to call his father’s former close aide "Uncle Johnny."

“He is like my uncle. I call him Uncle Johnny. I’ve called him that since I was a child,” he told Toni Gonzaga in an interview that aired on ALLTV channel.

Aside from having no ill feelings toward Enrile, Marcos Jr. said he picked the military general-turned-legislator as presidential legal adviser due to his competence.

"He’s one of the 3 best lawyers I know in the Philippines. He certainly fits the bill," the President said.

"We are happy to be with and work with one another… I don't see any reason for him to betray me," he said.

"Time of life na din niya. I guess he just wants to keep working, watching it by my side."

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