JV Ejercito eyes another Senate comeback
MANILA, Philippines — Former Sen. JV Ejercito is eyeing a comeback at the Senate in the 2022 polls.
Ejercito announced on Friday that he is again joining the Senate race, after failing to secure consecutive terms and losing in the 2019 elections.
In a virtual press conference, Ejercito said in Filipino: “I want to continue my advocacy for the Universal Health Care, so we can strengthen our healthcare system for coming pandemics.”
The former lawmaker said the universal health care, the bill of which he sponsored at the Senate, is a work in progress and should be prioritized amid the pandemic.
Also on his legislative agenda is pushing for infrastructure development and modern public transportation to spur economic growth.
Ejercito admitted that the 2022 senatorial race would be “very tight” as more lawmakers are seeking to stage a comeback. He also cited that “the two siblings might run again,” referring to his half-brother Jinggoy Estrada.
In the 2019 elections, Ejercito ran against Estrada, and both sat outside the wining circle, with the former placing at the 13th spot and the latter as 15th.
“Having to run in two consecutive national elections is just too much especially funding purposes,” he also said.
But Ejercito said he would be banking on his track record of public service in his new senatorial bid.
He also thanked the Nationalist People’s Coalition for putting his name on its senatorial ticket, although he admitted that he was initially also included in the administration-backed Partido-Demokratiko Pilipino’s slate.
But he said that when the wing led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi declared its eight bets, he was told that purely PDP-Laban members were listed on its slate. — Kristine Joy Patag
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