JV Ejercito files COC for senator in Eleksyon 2022

Seeking a comeback in the Senate, former Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito filed his certificate of candidacy on Saturday afternoon.

Last September 24, Ejercito formally announced his senatorial bid.

He said he will push for the proper implementation of the Universal Health Care Law, which is one of the landmark legislations he sponsored in the Senate, and more infrastructure projects.

“I feel that it is my obligation and my duty to all the more push the Universal Health Care Law which I sponsored and authored when I was in the Senate,” he said.

Although it is already a law, Ejercito said the success of the UHC relies in the implementation phase and the pandemic has exposed the weakness of the current healthcare system.

He also hopes that he can also oversee the implementation and proper establishment of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.

Ejercito also explained why he used “JV Estrada” in his certificate of candidacy.

“Whether you like it or not Estrada is a brand name. It has been in the politics for the past 50 years. I am the only one who used Ejercito in national politics and everywhere I go, there are still people who refer to me, especially in the rural areas, they refer to me as JV Estrada. So I think that it is just proper that I use it as an alias,” he said.

Ejercito admitted that he is in dilemma right now as most of the presidential aspirants and huge political groups ask him to join their senatorial slates.

He said he is affiliated with the Nationalist People’s Coalition but he is in talks with the group of Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, camp of former Senator Bongbong Marcos, among others.

Aside from Ejercito, those who filed their COCs for senator on Saturday, the second day of filing, were Kapa founder Joel "Pastor" Apolinario, broadcaster Raffy Tulfo, and Loreto "St. Loreto"Banosan. —KG, GMA News