What is the conflict between cousins Jinggoy Estrada and ER Ejercito?
Pagsanjan Councilor John Paul “Jet” Ejercito, the son of ER Ejercito, slammed his uncle, Senator Jinggoy Estrada.
Just recently, an issue about ER surfaced. Reportedly, he was replaced as the Pagsanjan Mayor by Vice Mayor Jan Garcia because of the alleged corruption being linked to him. When the Mayor’s office was asked about this, no concrete answer was released.
Based on the article in PEP, ER’s son spoke about his father’s condition. The younger Ejercito said that his father has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis, chronic sinusitis, and atopic dermatitis.
The councilor added that his father is preparing for renal hernia surgery, which was supposed to be the reason for his “medical leave” as the Pagsanjan Mayor, despite the fact that Garcia confirmed that he is now the mayor.
Councilor Jet’s privilege speech at the Sangguniang Bayan session on December 2 said that his father’s physician certified his medical condition. In his speech, the councilor also took a swipe at his uncle, Senator Jinggoy Estrada.
He mentioned that in previous sessions, his fellow councilors Vins Gonzales and Ronie Leron talked about the supposed bench warrant against his father.
“Terms like fugitive were irresponsibly used and today, I must set straight the record. Let me state this clearly for truth must prevail here. Mayor ER’s Supreme Court case is not a PDAF corruption case. It is not flood control corruption case,” Jet Ejercito said.
He stressed that this was a politically motivated charge of command responsibility rooted in a procedural mistake committed by the municipal council back in 2008.”
Then. ER Ejercito’s son mentioned his uncle. “Now being exploited and magnified by no less than my very own uncle, Senator Jinggoy Estrada.” The PDAF and flood control corruption were not directly directed at the senator, but his name has been dragged into these issues.
For Jet Ejercito, this kind of tactic was similar to the political harassment that his father experienced more than 12 years ago. At that time, ER was unseated as Laguna governor in 2014 because of the supposed “malicious” and “exaggerated call for spending allegations.
This case was pushed by former President Benigno Noynoy Aquino III. However, the Commission on Elections dismissed this.