MANILA, 2 February 2008 — President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has approved the appointment of Cristina Ponce Enrile, the former wife of Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, as ambassador to the Vatican, Malacañang said last night.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Cristina was recommended by the Department of Foreign Affairs to the post, which was vacated recently by Ambassador Leonida Vera.
Vera, who held the post since March 2004, resigned last month reportedly after she was told that Malacanang Palace was displeased with her failure to convince the Vatican to reprimand Philippine Roman Catholic bishops critical of the Arroyo administration.
Vera wrote to the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) last month, informing the bishops of her decision to resign. She also wrote the president, thanking her for the opportunity to serve the country and the church. Apart from being the ex-wife of Sen. Enrile, a staunch Arroyo ally, Cristina is reportedly backed by Malacañang’s Religious Affairs head Nena Valdez.
In her own right, however, Cristina, an American Catholic, is a known supporter of many charity organizations and a friend of the late Cardinal Jaime Sin.
It is said that when then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and then Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos led a faction of soldiers in breaking away with dictator Ferdinand Marcos in Feb. 22, 1986, it was Cristina who asked Cardinal Sin for help.
The influential Manila archbishop subsequently went on radio to rally the people to pour out into the streets and protect the Enrile-Ramos forces from being attacked by Marcos loyalist troops.
With millions of people joining the protest in what became known as the EDSA I “People Power Revolution,” the dictatorship fell four days later and the Marcoses fled to Hawaii.
