JV Ejercito. INQUIRER.net file photo / Tristan Tamayo
MANILA, Philippines – San Juan Councilor Jana Ejercito was allegedly brought to a police station while she was handing out relief goods to city residents, her cousin and former senator JV Ejercito said on Thursday.
JV said in a tweet that there could have been no violation recorded as the councilor was distributing bangus (milkfish) by going house to house in San Juan, thus, minimizing the need for physical distancing measures.
“My cousin, Councilor Jana Ejercito was brought to the police station for distributing bangus. They were giving the milkfish house to house, so there was no crowd,” the former legislator said.
My cousin, Councilor Jana Ejercito was brought to the police station for distributing bangus.
They were giving the milkfish house to house, so there was no crowd.
Dito sa San Juan ang utos pag galing sa kalaban bawal. This is a Pandemic, every help should be welcome.
— JV Ejercito (@jvejercito) May 14, 2020
However, San Juan City Police chief Col. Jaime Santos refuted the accusations, saying that Jana went to the station on her own, and that it is her personnel who were invited by the police officers.
“Negative po, hindi po dinala si [Councilor] Jana sa Station. Siya po ang nagpunta, ‘yong mga tao niya po inimbitahan [That’s not true, Jana was not brought to the station. She was the one who went to the station, and the ones invited were her personnel],” Santos said in a text message to INQUIRER.net.
The friction between the two clans in San Juan — the Estradas and the Zamoras whose scion is current mayor — have been evident since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns affected the city.
On May 4, former senator Jinggoy Estrada, JV ‘s half-brother, was also brought to the police station for distributing relief goods.
Jinggoy insisted that politics was involved in his arrest, but Mayor Francis Zamora insisted that it was not a harassment as willing donors should coordinate with the local government before being allowed to do such actions.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año also noted that Jinggoy violated at least five ECQ regulations during his relief drive.
Prior to this, Jinggoy also complained that they were barred from having rolling stores around the city as it competes with the city’s public markets.
JV claimed that he knows of an order from Zamora’s camp that political rivals are not be allowed to help people.
“Dito sa San Juan ang utos pag galing sa kalaban bawal [Here in San Juan, when help comes from political rivals, it is not allowed]. This is a pandemic, every help should be welcome,” he said.