JV looms as next San Juan mayor

Jose Victor "JV" Ejercito may find himself the lone candidate for mayor in San Juan this May.

Mayor Jinggoy Estrada told The STAR in a telephone interview yesterday he would support the candidacy of his half-brother, who is the son of President Estrada by former starlet Guia Gomez.

Estrada, who is on his third and last term, said he is supporting his half-brother’s mayoratly to prevent the opposition from grabbing the top post in San Juan.

Estrada said Ejercito will be running under the banner of the Lapian ng Masang Pilipino, a coalition of three political parties that has backed the election his father to the presidency.

Earlier, Estrada discouraged Ejercito from running for mayor of San Juan as he was pushing for the candidacy of Vice Mayor Philip Cezar. But after the former Crispa basketball star declared he is retiring from politics, Estrada relented and threw his support to his half-brother.

Meanwhile, Estrada said the people who launched the Erap Resign Movement at the Mary the Queen Church in Greenhills, San Juan over the weekend have a hidden political agenda.

"They have an ax to grind against the President and his family," he said. "But I assure you the people of San Juan are not listening to them because of their sullied reputation."

Estrada said among those who attended the movement’s launching were former San Juan mayors Reynaldo San Pascual and Adolfo Sto. Domingo.

"They are out of the limelight for so long," he said. "They wanted to get back with a bang so they decided to take a ride on President Estrada’s impeachment trial."

Estrada said he defeated Domingo in the 1992 mayoralty elections, while San Pascual was officer-in-charge of San Juan during the Aquino administration when his father was removed from office after the 1986 EDSA people power revolt.

Estrada said the Chief Executive is well-loved by the people in San Juan, and that they are already tired of politicians like Domingo and San Pascual.

But Estrada refused to discuss with The STAR his political plans, saying that he will make an announcement in the coming days.

Before the Chief Executive was impeached, Estrada planned to run for the Senate, but he is reportedly intending to run as San Juan representative in Congress.