Joseph Victor Gomez Ejercito (; born December 26, 1969), also known as JV Ejercito Estrada or simply JV Ejercito, is a Filipino politician and businessman serving as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

since 2022 and previously from 2013 to 2019. He had also served as the

representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

of San Juan from 2010 to 2013 and was the city's mayor from 2001 to 2010. He is a son of former president

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice preside ...

, and a half-brother of Senator

Jinggoy Estrada Jose Pimentel Ejercito Jr. (; born February 17, 1963), also known as Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada or simply Jinggoy Estrada, is a Filipino politician, film actor, and producer serving as a Senator since 2022, and previously from 2004 to 2016. He ...

. Ejercito credits himself as the author of the Universal Health Care Act of the Philippines.

Early life

Joseph Victor "JV" G. Ejercito was born December 26, 1969 in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

to actor

Joseph Ejercito Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice preside ...

, the then Mayor-elect of San Juan (then a municipality of

Rizal Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng Rizal), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The p ...

), and businesswoman and fellow celebrity Guia Gomez.

Education

He attended

Xavier School English: ''Let your light shine!'' , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuit) , established = , founders = , president = Fr. Aristotle Dy, SJ , chairman = Johnip Cua , administrator = , re ...

for his primary and secondary education and completed his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Political Science at the

De La Salle University De La Salle University ( fil, Pamantasang De La Salle or Unibersidad ng De La Salle), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private university, private, Catholic Church, Catholic coeducational research university run by the I ...

Political career

San Juan mayor

Ejercito served as mayor of San Juan for three consecutive terms from 2001 to 2010. He was succeeded by his mother Guia Gomez.

House of Representatives

During the 2010 elections, Ejercito ran for the position of representative 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 A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and passed to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for consideration: *HB 4225: Participatory Governance Through CSOs Empowerment Act of 2011 *HB 4541: Mercury Exposure Information Act of 2011 *HB 4565: Local Housing Boards Act *HB 5870: Cadastral Survey Act of 2012 *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 election, where he won as the 11th placer out of 12 winning 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. He was the principal sponsor of the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act (R.A. 11229), which requires children 12 years old and below and shorter than 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in) to sit on

child safety seat A child safety seat, sometimes called an infant safety seat, child restraint system, child seat, baby seat, car seat, or a booster seat, is a seat designed specifically to protect children from injury or death during vehicle collisions. Most c ...

s when riding in a vehicle. 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 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 The 2019 election of members to the Senate of the Philippines was the 33rd election of members to the Senate of the Philippines for a six-year term. It was held on May 13, 2019. The seats of 12 senators elected in 2013 were contested during thi ...

, his candidacy was endorsed by President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

. His half-brother, former Senator Jinggoy, who was previously jailed and 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 half-brother Jinggoy wished that Senator

Nancy Binay Maria Lourdes "Nancy" Sombillo Binay-Angeles (born May 12, 1973) is a Filipina politician serving as a Senator since 2013. She is the daughter of former Vice President Jejomar Binay. Without any prior experience in government, Binay placed a bi ...

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. Ejercito sought for a comeback to the Senate in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

and won as the 10th placer, earning his second nonconsecutive term. His half-brother Jinggoy Estrada, who also ran for senator after being defeated in 2019, was also successful as he placed 12th. Ejercito is the current Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government and the Senate Committee on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement.

Personal life

He is married to Hyacinth "Cindy" Lotuaco with whom he has a son, Julio Jose. He also has an older son, Jose Emilio. Joseph Victor is also a Commissioned

Reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

Officer of the

Philippine Marine Corps The Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) ( fil, Hukbong Kawal Pandagat ng Pilipinas) is the marine corps of the Philippines, a naval infantry force under the command of the Philippine Navy. The PMC conducts amphibious, expeditionary, and special ope ...

with the rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. He is an adopted member of the

Philippine Military Academy The Philippine Military Academy ( fil, Akademiyang Militar ng Pilipinas / es, Academia Militar de Filipinas) also referred to by its acronym PMA is the premier military academy for Filipinos aspiring for a commission as a military officer of ...

Class of '88, ''Maringal''. Ejercito has a tattoo on his right arm: A red eight-rayed sun with the

baybayin (, ''pre-kudlít'': , ''virama-krus-kudlít'': , ''virama-pamudpod'': ; also formerly commonly incorrectly known as alibata) is a Philippine script. The script is an abugida belonging to the family of the Brahmic scripts. Geographically, it ...

character for ''ka'' at the center, and the phrase ''Para sa Bayan'' ("For the country") and the letter "K" on top of the sun. He has also raced in the

Toyota Vios The Toyota Vios is a nameplate used for subcompact cars produced by the Japanese manufacturer Toyota, primarily for markets in Southeast Asia, China and Taiwan since 2002. Slotted below the compact Corolla, the Vios serves as the replacement ...

Cup. He is also an avid cyclist, having received attention for biking from his residence in San Juan to the Senate building in

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, i ...

, and for an incident where he fell off his bike after tripping on a

pothole A pothole is a depression in a road surface, usually asphalt pavement, where traffic has removed broken pieces of the pavement. It is usually the result of water in the underlying soil structure and traffic passing over the affected area. Water ...

along

Roxas Boulevard Roxas Boulevard is a popular waterfront promenade in Metro Manila in the Philippines. The boulevard, which runs along the shores of Manila Bay, is well known for its sunsets and stretch of coconut trees. The divided roadway has become a tradema ...

a year prior.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ejercito, Joseph 1969 births Living people People from San Juan, Metro Manila People from Manila JV JV Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino politicians Senators of the 16th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 17th Congress of the Philippines Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from San Juan, Metro Manila Mayors of San Juan, Metro Manila De La Salle University alumni United Nationalist Alliance politicians Nationalist People's Coalition politicians Children of presidents of the Philippines Senators of the 19th Congress of the Philippines