Joseph Victor Gomez Ejercito (Tagalog pronunciation:[ʔɛˌhɛːɾ.sɪˈto];[5] born December 26, 1969), also known as JV Ejercito Estrada or simply JV Ejercito,[3] is a Filipino politician and businessman serving as a Senator since 2022 and previously from 2013 to 2019. He had also served as the representativeofSan Juan from 2010 to 2013 and was the city's mayor from 2001 to 2010. He is a son of former president Joseph Estrada, and a half-brother of Senator Jinggoy Estrada.
After his father and half-brother were arrested for plunder on April 25, 2001, Ejercito was among the politicians who spoke against the Second EDSA Revolution at pro-Estrada rallies that preceded the May 1 riots near Malacañang Palace.[6][7]
Ejercito credits himself as the author of the Universal Health Care Act of the Philippines.[8]
Joseph Victor "JV" G. Ejercito was born December 26, 1969, in Manila to actors Joseph Ejercito Estrada, the then Mayor-elect of San Juan (then a municipality of Rizal), and Guia Gomez, who is also a businesswoman. His given name Joseph Victor is derived from his father and the latter's electoral protest victory to become San Juan mayor in the same year, respectively.[9]
On February 27, 2001, Ejercito filed his candidacy to run for mayor of San Juan. Despite his father's removal from office as President of the Philippines due to the Second EDSA Revolution a month prior, Ejercito stated that in San Juan, "there is still a strong clamor for me to run."[11] He eventually served as mayor for three consecutive terms from 2001 to 2010. It was during his term when San Juan was converted into a highly urbanized city in 2007. He was succeeded by his mother Guia Gomez.
During the 2010 elections, Ejercito ran for the position of representative for the lone district of San Juan. Over the course of his term, Ejercito authored and/or sponsored 161 bills and/or House measures, five of which were approved by the House and passed to the Senate for consideration:[12]
HB 4225: Participatory Governance Through CSOs Empowerment Act of 2011[13]
HB 4541: Mercury Exposure Information Act of 2011[14]
HB 6144: Domestic Workers Act of 2012 or Kasambahay Bill[17]
Senate
[edit]Ejercito presiding over a Senate session in 2017
On October 1, 2012, Ejercito filed his certificate of candidacy for the 2013 Philippine Senate election, where he won as the 11th placer out of 12 winning senators elected.[18]
During his six years in the Senate, Ejercito filed a total of 140 bills and resolutions. Ejercito also chaired the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs and the Committee on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement and the Health and the Demography Committee in the 17th Congress.
He was the principal sponsor of the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act (R.A. 11229), which requires children 12 years old and below and shorter than 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in) to sit on child safety seats when riding in a vehicle.[19]
On April 6, 2016, Sandiganbayan Fifth Division issued an arrest warrant against Ejercito and four other government officials, in connection with allegations on misuse of funds during his term as San Juan mayor.[20] However, Ejercito was cleared of the charges because the case was dismissed.[21]
Ejercito ran and launched a campaign to secure a second consecutive term in the 2019 Philippine Senate election, his candidacy was endorsed by President Rodrigo Duterte.[22] His half-brother, former Senator Jinggoy, who was previously jailed and charged with multiple counts of plunder in 2014, also sought a Senate return. During the campaign, the siblings had a disagreement[23] in the idea of them running at the same time, Ejercito expressed that Estrada running would "ruin his chances", he also threw shade against Estrada as he referred himself as "The Good One" in political ads. Eventually, the half-siblings both lost as Ejercito ended up in 13th place, just a spot outside the winning circle, while Estrada finished at 15th place. After conceding defeat, Estrada wished that Senator Nancy Binay would make it over Ejercito, with both senators vying for the last spot in the partial and unofficial count, Ejercito responded by telling Estrada that he placed 13th in his own hometown, “Let him speak... It’s painful to accept that even in your own bailiwick you are unwanted".[24]
Ejercito sought for a comeback to the Senate in 2022 and won as the 10th placer, earning his second nonconsecutive term.[25] His half-brother Jinggoy Estrada was also successful as he placed 12th.[26] In August 2022, he was elected Deputy Majority Leader, alongside Mark Villar, and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government and the Senate Committee on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement.[27] On May 20, 2024, he stepped down as Deputy Majority Leader following changes in the Senate leadership that saw the resignation of Migz Zubiri as Senate President.[28]
He is married to Hyacinth "Cindy" Lotuaco with whom he has a son, Julio Jose. He also has an older son, Jose Emilio. Joseph Victor is also a Commissioned Reserve Officer of the Philippine Marine Corps with the rank of Major. He is an adopted member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of '88, Maringal.
Ejercito has a tattoo on his right arm: A red eight-rayed sun with the baybayin character for ka at the center, and the phrase Para sa Bayan ("For the country") and the letter "K" on top of the sun.[29] He has also raced in the Toyota Vios Cup.[30][31] He is also an avid cyclist, having received attention for biking from his residence in San Juan to the Senate building in Pasay,[32] and for an incident where he fell off his bike after tripping on a pothole along Roxas Boulevard a year prior.[33]
^Ubac, Michael Lim; Donato, Agnes (May 2, 2001). "Chronology". Philippine Daily Inquirer. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc. p. A20. Retrieved April 1, 2024. 10 p.m. – JV Ejercito and other speakers echo [Miriam Defensor Santiago's] call to march on Malacañang.
