Former senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito who is seeking a return to the Senate in the 2022 elections pledged to support the call for the restoration of the Negros Island Region.
Ejercito, who met with Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer at the Capitol in Bacolod City Wednesday, December 1, said the two are strongly endorsing his reelection bid.
Ejercito said his mother, former San Juan mayor Guia Gomez, is from the province and he is committed to support the needs of Negrenses in the Senate. He pointed out that he supported the passage of the Sugar Industry Development Act in the Senate.
He said he is running for senator to oversee the full implementation of two landmark laws that he authored – the Universal Health Care Act and the creation of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development to address the housing problems of the Philippines.
The Universal Health Care Act should be fully implemented to boost the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
Ejercito wants to focus on health care, housing and infrastructure development.
The former senator said he may not have a well-funded campaign but his advantage is his good performance and unblemished track record.
He is also hoping for the support of the Negrenses.
Ejercito said he has also been adopted in the senate slates of presidential candidates Panfilo Lacson, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Isko Moreno, and hopefully by Manny Pacquiao.
As much as possible he does not want to talk about his half-brother, former senator Jinggoy Estrada, who is also running for the Senate, he said. In 2019 it became a sibling rivalry issue and overshadowed his accomplishments, Ejercito added.
He was No. 13 in the last elections, short about 200,000 votes to make it to the winning circle, Ejercito said.*