Maria "Mary" Marcelo vda. de Ejército (May 2, 1906 – January 13, 2009), also known as Doña Mary, was the mother of

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

thirteenth In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octa ...

president of the Philippines. Her ailing health was cited as among the reasons for the withdrawal of the appeal of the former president from his conviction for criminal plunder charges in 2007; Estrada was immediately pardoned by his successor, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Education

Maria Marcelo finished her secondary schooling at the Colegio de Sta. Rosa, and enrolled at the University of the Philippines Faculty of Music, where she received a diploma in piano.

Marriage and children

She met Emilio Ejercito Sr. (1899–1977), an engineer who became the first Sanitary Engineer of the City of Manila. They were married on June 13, 1926 in

Singalong Sing-along, also called community singing or group singing, is an event of singing together at gatherings or parties, less formally than choir singing. One can use a songbook. Common genres are folk songs, patriotic songs, kids' songs, spirituals ...

, Manila. Together they had ten children: Pilarica (born 1927), Emilio, Jr. (1929-1999), Paulino (Paulie) (1931-2009), Patrocinio (born 1933), Antonio (1933-2004), Connie (born 1935), Marita (born 1935), the (former) President and mayor Joseph Estrada (born 1937), the actor George Estregan (Jorge) (1939-1988) and Jesus (Jesse) (born 1947). In 1998, Ejercito received the "Ulirang Ina" ('Exemplary Mother') award from the Philippines’ Elderly Persons Foundation. In that same year, she attended the presidential inauguration of her son Joseph on June 30 at Barasoain Church in

Malolos, Bulacan Malolos, officially the City of Malolos ( fil, Lungsod ng Malolos), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 261,189 people. It is the capital city ...

Presidential mother

During her son's rule, Ejercito kept a low profile. She reportedly advised her son to be cautious of the influence wielded by his close friends. During President Estrada's impeachment trial, news of the political crisis was deliberately withheld from her, but after receiving information of the proceedings she advised her son thusly: "It's more than high time you change. The people are angry now."

Health problems

Ejercito's health began to decline during her son's six-year incarceration; the ousted President would occasionally be granted

furlough A furlough (; from nl, verlof, "leave of absence") is a temporary leave of employees due to special needs of a company or employer, which may be due to economic conditions of a specific employer or in society as a whole. These furloughs may be s ...

s to visit his ailing mother. In 2007, Ejercito was confined at the San Juan Medical Center, and rumours spread that she was near death. On September 12, 2007, Estrada was convicted by the Sandiganbayan (a special appellate collegial court) of plunder charges and sentenced to '' reclusión perpetua''. One month later, he withdrew his appeal and instead sought for a

presidential pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...

. Among the reasons cited for the request, which was granted, was Ejercito's "delicate condition". On May 2, 2008, Ejercito celebrated her 102nd birthday from her sickbed. She had been confined to hospital and attached to an artificial respirator since August 2007 and would remain so until death. On December 12, 2008, a spokesperson for former President Estrada reported that Ejercito was in critical condition and needed resuscitation, but her physicians announced later that day that her condition had since stabilised.

Death

Ejercito died on January 13, 2009, from a heart seizure and stomach aneurysm. Former President Joseph Estrada and his six surviving siblings, namely Pilarica, Paulino (who died eight months later in September of the same year), Patrocinio, Marita, Connie and Jesus, were at her side when she died, as were also several of her grandchildren, great and great-great-grandchildren as well.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ejercito, Mary 1906 births 2009 deaths People from Malate, Manila Mary Mary Filipino centenarians University of the Philippines alumni Women centenarians