Senator JV Ejercito left his father’s Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) without speaking to him before joining the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).
On Wednesday, Ejercito took his oath as a new member of NPC.
“It was a difficult decision. Syempre mahirap din iwanan ‘yung partido ng iyong ama (Of course it’s hard to leave the party of your father),” the senator told reporters after taking his oath with the NPC.
While they may have some disagreements, Ejercito said his love and respect for his father would remain.
“Utang ko ang buhay ko, ang pagpapalaki sa akin— sa kanya,” he said.
(I owe my life and my upbringing to him.)
Ejercito explained that he just had to leave his father’s party because he believes that it would not look good if he and his half-brother, former Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, would run together under one party.
The senator admitted that his father got hurt by his decision.
“Alam ko medyo sumama ang loob pero pupuntahan ko pa rin siya syempre,” he said.
(I know his feelings were hurt but I’ll still go to him.)
“Kaya lang sana maitindihan niya, hindi naman talagang magandang tingnan na dalawa kaming magkapatid, iisang partido,” Ejercito added.
(I hope he understands that it doesn’t really good when brothers are running under one party.) /je