JV Ejercito falls ill after Ilocos Sur sortie

San Juan Representative Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito Estrada. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – It is crunch time for midterm elections candidates and as they beef up their campaign activities with barely a month left to woo voters for support, someone may fall ill.

San Juan Representative Joseph Victor Ejercito Estrada has been struck by fever after the United Nationalist Alliance [UNA] took its campaign activities to Ilocos Sur.

UNA has been boosting its rallies and motorcades due to the limited time left to campaign.

Opposition candidates are known for toughing it out under the harsh rays of the sun on top of their vehicles during motorcades—this was also the case when it campaigned in the Ilocos region last week.

The younger Estrada said that his fever reached 38.5 to 39 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the day after he jumped from the UNA campaign activities in Ilocos Sur to Manila to attend the birthday of his father, deposed President Joseph Estrada.

The San Juan legislator has been hopping in and out of UNA’s campaign trail, visiting far-flung areas on his own or with resigned senator Juan Miguel Zubiri on certain occasions.

Rest days for him were spent helping his father campaign in the city of Manila, where the ousted president is going head to head with incumbent Manila City Mayor Alfredo Lim.

“Bumigay din. Grabe naman din kasi ang schedule namin. It’s really gruelling compared to Team PNoy’s. Suyod kami ng bayan-bayan talaga. Sila ang puputi!” he said.

[My body gave in. Our schedule is unbelievable, gruelling compared to Team PNoy’s activities. We really take our time to visit every town that we can. (Unlike us, Team PNoy’s candidates) are so fair-skinned!]

Estrada said that he was at home recovering on Monday and hopes to feel better by Tuesday so he can join other opposition candidates when they court Zamboanga voters for support.