Juan Ponce Enrile, Friend of WACL, Has Finally Died (1924–2025)
▲ Pictured: Juan Ponce Enrile and former president Duterte, who is now being held by the ICC for charges of crimes against humanity
From Vigilantes in the Philippines: From Fanatical Cults To Citizens' Organizations by Ronald J. May:
While vigilantism is not a new phenomenon in Philippine society, the more recent wave of vigilante groups in the post-Marcos period was essentially directed against communists, in particular the New People’s Army (NPA). However, many of the victims of "vigilante justice" in recent years have been innocent civilians, poor farmers, human rights and church workers, lawyers, journalists, religious, and other individuals who have advocated such measures as land reform and the withdrawal of American bases from Philippine territory.
Even more disturbing was the revelation of the fact-finding team headed by former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark in May 1987 that certain foreign organizations like the Unification Church-affiliated CAUSA (Confederation of the Associations for the Unification of the Societies of the Americas) and WACL (World Anti-Communist League) were actively engaged in encouraging, if not organizing, these right-wing groups. The team also found evidence of sophisticated counter-insurgency work being undertaken in Mindanao areas by elements of the Philippine military with U.S. technical assistance.
Juan Ponce Enrile has died, leaving behind a legacy of the violent militarization of Philippine society. His death unfortunately does nothing to absolve the injustices committed under his hand.
Enrile was a chief architect and enforcer of the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship. As Defense Minister and a top official under Ferdinand Marcos Sr., he oversaw the imprisonment, torture, and disappearance of farmers, workers, and activists, while defending the interests of landlords and oligarchs. He was deeply implicated in the coco levy scam, which stole millions from small coconut farmers. Though the JAKA corporation was established during the Marcos era, Enrile used it to perpetuate militarized extraction into the post‑Marcos era through land‑grab schemes like Lupang Kapdula in Cavite, shamelessly displacing farming communities.
Enrile also partnered with the World Anti-Communist League (WACL), a global network of rightwing paramilitaries and vigilante groups, which received upwards of 85% of its funding from the Unification Church. According to "Inside the League" by Scott Anderson and Jon Lee Anderson, Marcos' cronies, which likely included Enrile, were already involved with WACL prior to his ousting. That said, after Marcos was ousted, Enrile attended high-level WACL-organized conferences, alongside U.S. and Philippine intelligence and military, to map out counterinsurgency strategies following the ousting of Marcos. In the Philippines, WACL and CAUSA funding helped death squads like Alsa Masa, which violently terrorized communities in the Philippine countryside. Enrile had a strong working relationship with retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John K. Singlaub, leader of WACL and a former Phoenix Program officer responsible for the assassination of thousands of Vietnamese civilians. Not only did they discuss domestic security but Enrile also advised Singlaub on treasure-hunting. Singlaub was ostensibly in the Philippines to hunt for the Yamashita treasure, while simultaneously recruiting veterans of U.S. Special Forces to train Philippine troops and vigilantes in “unconventional warfare,” and helped fund rightwing paramilitary groups.
Enrile’s death does not erase the need for accountability. His death instead reminds us that the structures of elite rule, militarized repression, and foreign-backed counterinsurgency continue to operate in the Philippines. The farmers, workers, activists, and revolutionaries who suffered under his orchestration of violence and theft remain without justice, while the paramilitary machinery he helped sustain has evolved into modern incarnations such as the CAFGUs and other civilian militias, now coordinated under programs like NTF-ELCAC and the “whole-of-nation” approach to counterinsurgency, continuing to cast a shadow over the rural poor.
Juan Ponce Enrile is gone, but the fascistic systems he developed in the Philippines remain. Confonting his legacy is inseparable from confronting the continued imperialist, bureaucrat capitalist, and feudal interventions that shape Philippine life today.
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CSPAN video: Philippines Update from the U.S. Global Strategy Council on October 13, 1987, pushing for stronger counterinsurgency efforts against the New Peoples Army, leading to years where thousands were killed. These anti-communist murders continue, taking the lives of clergy, activists, teachers, social workers, and anybody who speaks up for justice and human rights.