JV agrees with Jinggoy: There should be only one Estrada running for Senate in Eleksyon 2022

Former Senator JV Ejercito on Friday said he agrees with his half-brother, former Senator Jinggoy Estrada, that there should be only one Estrada running for the Senate in the 2022 elections.

“I agree with him. There should only be one Estrada [running in 2022],” Ejercito said in ANC interview, referring to Jinggoy’s previous remarks on their simultaneous senatorial bid in 2019.

Ejercito said it would be a repeat of the 2019 elections should they both decide to vie for a Senate seat in the next polls.

“You know my predicament and my dilemma, because my brother has said he intends to run,” he said.

“So it will be 2019 all over again. It would be difficult. We will just be wasting time, money, and effort by running together.”

Currently, Ejercito said he is 80% sure that he will seek a Senate seat.

Last Wednesday, Ejercito said he will decide on his possible 2022 senatorial bid in October.

Earlier that day, Jinggoy said he is inclined to seek a Senate comeback in the upcoming polls.

During the 2019 midterm elections, Estrada and then-reelectionist Ejercito ran for Senate but lost.

Estrada landed on the 15th spot with over 11 million votes, while Ejercito was on 13th spot with over 14 million votes.

Moreover, Ejercito admitted that the “rift has gotten so deep” between him and Jinggoy after the 2019 polls, and that he is “hoping for a miracle” to mend things with his half-brother.

Ejercito also said running for a local post in their bailiwick in San Juan City is not an option for him in 2022 as he believes that he had served the local government already during his term as mayor.

Ejercito lamented that he was not able to “shepherd” the implementation of landmark laws that he sponsored in the Senate, particularly the Universal Health Care Act and the law that created the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).

“It is still different if the author or the sponsor is there in the Senate to make sure that it is implemented properly,” Ejercito said.

“To be honest, it is being implemented, but it could have been better and it could have given more priority had I been there [in the Senate] being the principal sponsor to shepherd its implementation phase,” he added.

In the last elections, Ejercito had blamed Jinggoy’s candidacy for his loss, saying his half-brother was the “biggest problem” in his 2019 senatorial bid. —KBK, GMA News