Loi Ejercito
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Luisa Pimentel Ejército (; born June 2, 1930), commonly known as Dra. Loi Ejército, is a Filipino politician and physician who last served as a
Senator of the Philippines The Senate of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Senado ng Pilipinas'', also ''Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas'' or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines with the House of Representatives as ...
from 2001 to 2007. She is the wife of former
Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Joseph Ejercito Estrada, and was the twelfth
First Spouse of the Philippines The first lady or first gentleman of the Philippines ( fil, Unang Ginang o Unang Ginoó ng Pilipinas) is the courtesy title given to the host or hostess of Malacañang Palace, the residence of the head of state and head of government of the Phili ...
from 1998 to 2001. Her son, Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, is an incumbent senator since 2022 and previously from 2004 to 2016.


Early life and career

Ejercito was born Luisa Fernandez Pimentel on June 2, 1930 to Rufino Pimentel and Manuela Fernandez. She grew up and received her primary and secondary education in the town of Iba in
Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...
. She later pursued higher education at
University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel ...
, where she obtained an associate in arts degree from the College of Liberal Arts in 1949 and doctor of medicine in 1954. After which, she worked as a professor at the university's Faculty of Medicine and Surgery and as a physician at the
University of Santo Tomas Hospital The University of Santo Tomas Hospital (''simply'' UST Hospital or USTH) is a hospital located at the University of Santo Tomas. The hospital has two divisions, a clinical teaching hospital that offers inexpensive medical care for indigent patient ...
. She later worked at the
National Center for Mental Health The National Center for Mental Health ( fil, Pambansang Sentro ng Pangkaisipang Kalusugan), is a 4,200-bed psychiatric hospital occupying 47 hectares of land in the city of Mandaluyong, Philippines. It is PhilHealth-accredited. History Formerly ...
(NCMH), where she became a Junior Resident. There, she met her husband, actor
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 ...
. In 1960, she was a Training-Fellow at the
Royal Park Hospital Royal Park Psychiatric Hospital, commonly known as Royal Park is a former Receiving House and Psychiatric Hospital located in Parkville. Operating for over 90 years, Royal Park Hospital was the first psychiatric hospital established in Victo ...
in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and Ballarat Mental Hospital Department. She also served as a Training Fellow at Ararat Mental Hospital in 1961. In 1962, she returned to the Philippines and established the Mental Health Department at
Davao General Hospital The Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) is a government hospital under the Department of Health of the Republic of the Philippines. It is located at the JP Laurel Ave, Bajada, Davao City. It began as the ''Davao Medical Center''. Its name ...
in
Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of lan ...
. For fifteen years, starting in 1972, she has also been involved as a volunteer doctor at San Martin de Porres Charity Hospital in San Juan.


Public role

A psychiatrist by profession, Loi was dubbed First Lady ng Masa (First Lady of the Masses) and Doktora ng Masa (Doctor of the Masses) because of her medical and outreach missions during her term. On October 12, 1999, she received an
Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
degree in Philosophy from
Kyung Hee University Kyung Hee University (abbreviated to KHU) (Hangul: 경희대학교; Hanja: 慶熙大學校) is a private research university in South Korea with campuses in Seoul and Suwon. Founded in 1949, it is widely regarded as one of the best universities i ...
. After her husband was deposed in the
EDSA Revolution of 2001 EDSA Revolution of 2001 refers to either of two consecutive events relating to a change of power in the Philippines over the course of the first four months of 2001. These are: *EDSA II in January 2001 that toppled President Joseph Estrada after an ...
, she ran as a candidate of the
Puwersa ng Masa The Puwersa ng Masa Coalition (Force of the Masses) was the Philippine opposition's political multi-party electoral alliance in the May 14, 2001 midterm Legislative elections. The coalition was created after the EDSA Revolution of 2001 that o ...
opposition coalition for a seat in
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 ...
. She won, placing 11th overall, and served in the
12th 12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...
and the 13th Congress, making her the first First Lady to win a seat in the Senate. With the election of her son Jinggoy in
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, they became the first ever mother-and-son as incumbent senators in Philippine Senate history. During her tenure (2001–2007), she authored 121 bills and 13 resolutions, some of which have already been enacted into law:
R.A. No. 9241
The National Health Insurance Program;
R.A. No. 9211
The No Smoking Act;

The Film Development Council of the Philippines,
R.A. No. 9165
The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act; and

The Clean Water Act. Ejercito decided to seek re-election in 2007 Philippine Senate election, 2007, but she didn't push through with it. At the end of her Senate term, she retired from politics.


Post-Senate

In January 2014, letters sent to the Department of Agriculture showed that Ejercito allocated her
pork barrel ''Pork barrel'', or simply ''pork'', is a metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district. The usage originated in American English, and i ...
to at least two non-governmental organizations linked to
Janet Lim-Napoles Janet Lim-Napoles (born Janet Luy Lim; January 15, 1964) is a Filipina businesswoman who is believed to have masterminded the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) Scam. She was convicted of plunder for her involvement in the PDAF Scam a ...
during her Senate term. In June 2014, she was named as the personal physician of her son Jinggoy, who was one of the senators implicated and detained for their alleged involvement in the pork barrel scam. On June 2, 2022, coinciding with her 92nd birthday, she released her memoir entitled “''Love, Mommyla: My Memories of 9 Decade''s,” a 104-pager published by her daughter Jackie. Percentage of the sales of the memoir would go to their medical missions.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ejercito, Loi 1930 births Living people Loi Loi Filipino psychiatrists Filipino academics Filipino medical doctors Filipino women medical doctors Filipino Roman Catholics Senators of the 12th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 13th Congress of the Philippines Women members of the Senate of the Philippines Ilocano people People from Zambales Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino politicians First Ladies and First Gentlemen of the Philippines University of Santo Tomas alumni Politicians from Zambales 21st-century Filipino women politicians 21st-century Filipino politicians Spouses of presidents of the Philippines