Senator JV Ejercito. Screengrabbed from INQUIRER.net video
The extended family of former President Joseph Estrada will support different presidential bets in the May 2016 elections, Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito disclosed on Monday.
Ejercito said he would support the presidential bid of Senator Grace Poe, while his mother, San Juan City Mayor Guia Gomez, has decided to support former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.
At a flag raising ceremony on Monday, Gomez endorsed the Liberal Party’s presidential bet.
The senator said his father, former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, will probably endorse either Poe or Vice President Jejomar Binay.
READ: Mar Roxas secures Guia Gomez’s endorsement
“I respect the decision of my mother to support the candidacy of her palangga, Secretary Mar Roxas. We agreed to disagree on our presidential preferences as I will remain supporting my ‘kapatid’ Senator Grace Poe,” Ejercito said in a statement, reacting to his mother’s endorsement of Roxas.
“My mother and I had experienced sleepless nights as most of the presidentiables are all close to us. She has her own reasons, as well as our countrymen has their own reasons with their preferences. I do not see anything wrong with this,” he said.
In June last year, the senator and the mayor both expressed their preference for Poe, who at that time had not yet declared her presidential bid.
READ: JV Ejercito, mom back Poe for president
In another statement, Ejercito said he understands the personal decision of his mother, saying that, “Of all the candidates, I believe Mayor Guia Gomez found common ground with Mar Roxas.”
The senator pointed out that his mother and Roxas both hailed from Negros island and that “their leadership and program are centered on promoting transparency, good governance and anti-corruption, among others.”
“If I’m not mistaken, my father, former Manila city Mayor Joseph Estrada will endorse the candidacy of either Senator Grace Poe or Vice President Jejomar Binay. As for me, I am still inclined to support Senator Grace Poe,” Ejercito said.
Estrada is among the leaders of the United Nationalist Alliance, which is supporting Binay’s presidential bid.
“The 2016 elections has pushed the envelope for the three of us to choose our own presidential bet because of the number of aspirants and our personal relationships with them. I believe this would be the first election wherein the public would witness our independence in political endorsement as a family,” Ejercito added.