While both Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and his son, senatorial candidate Jack Enrile Jr., deny the latter's involvement in the death of matinee idol Alfie Anido, the father and son have different accounts of the events of December 30, 1981, when Anido reportedly shot himself at his home in Bel-Air Village in Makati.
While the younger Enrile said he was at the scene with Senator Gregorio Honasan II, who served as aide de camp of his father when the latter was Minister of National Defense, the elder Enrile made no mention of his son's presence at the scene in his book, "Juan Ponce Enrile: A Memoir.”
In the memoir, the elder Enrile said his enemies in the Marcos regime were responsible for the rumors that Jack shot and killed Anido after the latter had a quarrel with his then-girlfriend Katrina, Jack's sister.
"To create the impression in the mind of the public that Jack had something to do with the death of Alfie Anido, General Ver unleashed his attack dogs to fish for evidence against Jack. Naturally, they found nothing because the rumor that Jack killed Alfie Anido was a pure fabrication," Enrile wrote in his memoir.
Enrile gave a detailed account of the events of December 30, 1981, but did not mention that Jack had gone to the Anido residence in Bel-Air.
According to Enrile, Alfie and Katrina had been fighting on the way to Makati from Antipolo, where Alfie had rented a house to celebrate his birthday. He wrote that Alfie had “physically hit” Katrina, and drove “at break-neck speed” from Antipolo to the Enrile house in Dasmariñas Village in Makati.
He said that they continued arguing on the phone, with Alfie repeatedly banging the phone on Katrina. At one point, Alfie's mother was the one who answered. "The mother said she was going to get Alfie to the phone. After a while, the sister of Alfie was on the phone and told Katrina, 'Kuya shot himself!'" Enrile wrote, before detailing how Katrina rushed to Alfie's house, but did not mention Jack's presence.
He said that they continued arguing on the phone, with Alfie repeatedly banging the phone on Katrina. At one point, Alfie's mother was the one who answered. "The mother said she was going to get Alfie to the phone. After a while, the sister of Alfie was on the phone and told Katrina, 'Kuya shot himself!'" Enrile wrote, before detailing how Katrina rushed to Alfie's house, but did not mention Jack's presence.
Meanwhile, in a television interview Thursday, Jack said that at the time, he was having dinner with then-Col. Gringo Honasan at a restaurant near Dusit Hotel in Makati. In his version, Alfie and Katrina were arguing on their way to Bel-Air, not to Dasmariñas Village.
"Nagkaroon ng squelch sa radyo na tila yata si Alfie at si Katrina ay pauwi na sa Bel-Air na medyo nag-aaway. Noong nakarating si Katrina doon sa bahay ni Alfie sa Bel-Air, medyo maganda na 'yung sitwasyon, tahimik na. So pinagpatuloy lang namin ang kain namin," he said on In Depth on News to Go.
The younger Enrile said that he tagged along with Honasan, who went to the Anido residence after hearing there was a problem.
"After a few minutes, nagka-squelch ulit at may problema. So umalis si Greg [Honasan] at ako naman, andito ako on vacation at the time, sumama ako. Pagdating namin doon sa bahay ni Alfie, nakita naming nakabukas 'yung pintuan, nakabukas 'yung ilaw at narinig kong sumisigaw si Katrina. At noong ako ay pumasok at nakita ko 'yung aking kapatid, tinuturo niya 'yung isang kuwarto sa taas. Umakyat ako, nakita ko 'yung bangkay na ni Alfie Anido," the younger Enrile told News to Go anchor Howie Severino.
"When she got there, the first person she met was the father of Alfie. He handed to Katrina the suicide note that Alfie wrote. The National Bureau of Investigation got the suicide note. Katrina wanted a copy, but she did not succeed in getting one. After Katrina returned the following morning from Loyola Memorial Funeral Parlor to the house of Alfie, his father asked Katrina why there were two sets of investigators—one from the National Bureau of Investigation and the other from Malacañang," the memoir said.
Jack Enrile explained that he just happened to be there, but had nothing to do with Anido's death.
"So hindi po totoo na mayroon akong kinalaman doon sa nangyari kay Alfie. I just so happened to be tagging along with our security officer at the time. He started with my father as a lieutenant. I treated him like my brother. Kuya Greg ang tawag ko sa kanya," he said.
Earlier on Thursday, the younger Enrile stressed that he was not involved in Anido's death.
"Kahit anong tao, walang puwedeng magsabi na may kinalaman si Jack Enrile doon sa pagkamatay ni Alfie Anido. Kaibigan ko 'yun. One year below me 'yun sa Ateneo. Napamahal 'yung taong 'yun sa akin," Enrile told fellow senatorial candidate Ricardo Penson on the Unang Hirit election series "Hiritan" on January 31.
Asked whether he agreed with his father that the rumors were meant to destroy his family, Enrile said such intrigues cannot be avoided. "In our case, rollercoaster 'yung political life ng father ko. Pag medyo popular siya, kasama kami. Pag medyo hindi siya popular, kasama rin kami at mayroon rin siyang mga kaaway sa pulitika na ginagamit lahat ng pamamaraan to pull him down," he said.
He shared that even as a 16-year-old, he already realized how dirty politics can get. However, this did not discourage him from following in his father's footsteps.
The younger Enrile, who is running under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) coalition, said when it comes to politics, father and son are inextricably linked.
"Kahit anong gawin ng ama ay nababahiran ang anak. Ganun din po kapag mayroong nangyari sa anak, naaapektuhan 'rin ang ama. Tanggap po natin 'yun bilang isang pulitiko sa ating bansa," he said on Unang Hirit.
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