VETERAN lawyer and former solicitor general Estelito Mendoza, died on Wednesday morning. He was 95 years old.
Mendoza’s death was announced by the Philippine National Bank.
“We are deeply saddened to report the passing of Atty. Estelito P. Mendoza, an esteemed director of the Philippine National Bank, today, March 26, 2025. Atty. Mendoza has been a director of the Bank since January 1, 2009,” the PNB said in a company announcement.
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, in a Facebook post, described Mendoza as a “very, very dear friend, and a “brilliant, luminary lawyer.”
“Estelito “Titong” Mendoza, for me, he was one of the best, if not the best, lawyer I have encountered and worked with… May he find eternal peace with God in heaven. A very good man has passed away. He was younger than me, but he was my senior at the UP Law School. Goodbye Titong – my very good and best friend,” Enrile said.
Mendoza served as solicitor general during the administration of former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
His legacy spans the field of public service, law and corporate leadership.
Beyond his role as the elder Marcos’s solicitor general, Mendoza also served as justice minister from 1984 to 1986.
He was also a member of the Batasang Pambansa from 1978 to 1980 and 1984 to 1986, and provincial governor of Pampanga from 1980 to 1984.
Beyond lawyering for the government, Mendoza also became known as a “super lawyer” or “lawyer of last resort” for his success in defending high-profile political figures in plunder cases.
He served as counsel of Marcos Sr., his wife Imelda, and cronies Lucio Tan, Roberto Ongpin, and Danding Cojuangco in numerous cases involving assets sequestered by the government in the aftermath of the 1986 EDSA People Power uprising.
He served as lead counsel of former president Joseph Estrada during his impeachment trial and plunder case following his resignation.
He also helped secure the acquittal of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in her plunder case involving funds from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
Mendoza also represented former Enrile and Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. in their plunder cases before the Sandiganbayan involving the pork barrel funds. Enrile and Revilla were acquitted in 2021 and 2024 respectively.
He also filed a petition with the Supreme Court asking for the dismissal of the petitions questioning the legality of Vice President Sara Duterte’s P125 million confidential funds.
Mendoza also won the labor dispute for the Philippine Air Lines involving the retrenchment of some 5, 000 airline employees.
Mendoza also won as lawyer of the municipalities in League of Cities of the Philippines versus Comelec involving the constitutionality of 16 cityhood bills. – With Jocelyn Montemayor
