Joseph Victor Gomez Ejercito, commonly known as JV Ejercito or JV Ejercito Estrada, is a Filipino politician and legislator who served as a Senator of the Phlippines, he is the son of former Philippine presidentJoseph Estrada. Ejercito first served as Mayor of San Juan from 2001 to 2010 before running and winning a seat in the congress for one term in 2010 serving up to 2013. After finishing his only term as a Congressman, he ran immediately and won a bid in the Senate in 2013. Ejercito credits himself as the author of the Universal Health Care Act of the Philippines.
During the 2010 elections, Ejercito ran for the position of congressman 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:
HB 4225: Participatory Governance Through CSOs Empowerment Act of 2011
HB 6144: Domestic Workers Act of 2012 or Kasambahay Bill
Senate
On October 1, 2012, Ejercito filed his certificate of candidacy for the 2013 Philippine senate elections, in which he won as the eleventh out of twelve of the senators elected. 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. 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 City mayor. However, Ejercito was cleared of the charges because the case was dismissed. 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. His brother, former Senator Jinggoy, who was previously jailed & charged with multiple counts of plunder in 2014, also sought a Senate return. During the campaign, the siblings had a disagreement 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. After conceding defeat, his brother Jinggoy 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,". Eventually, the siblings both lost as Ejercito ended up in 13th place, just a spot outside the winning circle, while Estrada finished at 15th place.
