Intense heat, fatigue drive campaigning senatorial bet JV Ejercito to hospital

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

MANILA, Philippines — Intense heat and over fatigue knocked down San Juan Rep. JV Ejercito with three weeks to go before the May 13 senatorial election, according to his statement released by his campaign team on Wednesday.

Ejercito said he was confined at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center last Monday “following weeks of hopping from one province to another to campaign.”

But Ejercito still took the opportunity to assail his counterparts at the administration’s senatorial ticket for allegedly taking it easy on the campaign trail.

“Grabe na nga ang kulay namin! Todo kayod at suyod kasi. Hindi tulad ng mga administration candidates, ang puputi pa! Sagana kasi sa ads kaya wala nang suyod! (Our skin color has really changed! It’s because of working and plowing the field, so to speak, at full throttle.  Unlike administration candidates, they’re still fair-skinned!  It’s because they’re bountiful when it comes to ads and there is really no need to work hard)” he said.

Ejercito and his fellow candidates at the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) earlier ridiculed Team PNoy candidates for their purportedly fair skin despite the intense heat on the ground. They interpreted that to mean that administration candidates were investing more in TV ads rather than meeting voters in campaign sorties.

“I hope to bounce back soon. Need to get well for the last stretch! Bawal na magkasakit (Getting sick is prohibited)!” Ejercito tweeted.