(Editor’s Note: This is a reprint of the post in his FB account last July 11, 2021, of former senator and defense secretary, Juan Ponce Enrile, debunking the claim of FB ‘fact checker’ and ‘Vera Files’, managed by Ellen Tordesillas, that he made an “unproven claim” on the link of former senator and Liberal Party stalwart, Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr., to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). Sen. Enrile’s original claim was also published under Issue No. 24 of Pinoy Exposé, with his permission. We are again reprinting Sen. Enrile’s response to Vera Files due to its relevance).
VERA Files stated that I asserted an “unproven claim about Ninoy’s ties with CPP-NPA- MNLF.” As a consequence, FB issued a notice about it (Vera Files article dated July 8, 2021—editor).
All I can say is that I had been Secretary of National Defense of the Philippines for 16 years from February 10, 1970 to November 1986.
As such, I had access to classified sensitive “secret documents” – especially those of the Armed Forces of Philippine – involving national security. Did Vera Files have access to those classified “secret documents?”
In October 1969, with much media and TV fanfare, Ninoy turned over to me – I was then the Secretary of Justice – three supposed eye witnesses to the Santa Lucia massacre.
The three were: Jeremias Hernandez, Enrique Lakandula, and Severo Balmes, all from Capas, Tarlac.
The three pointed to Serafin Agustin, Jose Santos, and Geronimo Foronda (intelligence agents of the Philippine Constabulary) as the perpetrators of the massacre. The NBI found the three supposed eye witnesses to be fake, after they were subjected to (a) lie detector test.
What was significant, during the turn-over of the fake witnesses to me, I met a young man who was, later on, a frequent companion of Ninoy.
His name was Roberto Santos. When I was already in the Department of National Defense, I saw the picture of Roberto Santos as among those in the NPA order of battle. He was a ranking NPA commander. His nom de guerre was ‘Commander Felman.’
In 1975, Ninoy asked me to see him in his detention quarters in Fort Bonifacio. When I arrived in his room, he was in good humor.
Right away he harangued me about martial law. He said, “You guys are not serious. You declared martial law and arrested people, but you stopped there. If I will be president, I will declare martial law, arrest 100 of the most prominent Filipinos, line them up against the wall, and shoot them down with a firing squad.” I just laugh without saying anything.
I asked him why he wanted me to see him. He said that he wanted me to convince President Marcos to release him and Fluellen Ortigas – another detained fellow at Camp Crame at that time – so that he could help the Marcos regime against the MNLF and the CPP-NPA.
I asked him how he could help us against the MNLF and the CPP-NPA.
He said, “I know Nur and Joma well. I help them organize their movements. I am sure I could find a modus vivendi between Marcos and the group of Nur and the group of Joma. I need Fluellen to help me.”
I told Ninoy I would tell President Marcos about his request.
When I told President Marcos about my meeting with Ninoy and my conversation with him, President Marcos said to me, “Do not believe Ninoy. You cannot trust that fellow. He will sell his soul to the Devil for power.”
To assuage his feeling, I told Ninoy that President Marcos wanted time to study his request. After that, I never discussed the matter with Ninoy again.