MANILA, Philippines – Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile is currently confined in a hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) due due to pneumonia, Senator Jinggoy Estrada announced during the Senate plenary session on Tuesday, November 11.

Senator Estrada shared the grave news, stating that he received the information from a “very reliable source.”

“Juan Ponce Enrile is currently in the intensive care unit of an undisclosed hospital. And I heard from a very, very reliable source that he has slim chances of surviving and I hope that all of us here present can have a short prayer,” Estrada said, requesting his colleagues to offer a prayer for the former Senate President.

Enrile, a towering figure in Philippine politics who turned 101 years old in February, has been experiencing declining health. He was last seen publicly in late October when he remotely attended the promulgation of his pending graft cases related to the pork barrel scam. During that appearance, he was shown on a hospital bed, looking frail.