JV Ejercito files COC, eyes Senate comeback

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 2)— Former senator JV Ejercito on Saturday filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for the 2022 polls, formalizing his bid for a Senate comeback.

He will be running under the banner of the Nationalist People's Coalition.

Ejercito admitted that the upcoming elections will be a "tough fight" — especially with past and present lawmakers joining the race.

But he also expressed hope he could "pick up where he left off" while working at the Senate.

"Especially with this pandemic, I feel that it is my obligation and my duty all the more to push the Universal Healthcare Law, which I sponsored and authored while I was still at the Senate," Ejercito said. "Although this is already a law, the implementation phase is still ongoing. It's a work in progress."

'Brand name'

Ejercito also said he will be using the surname "Estrada" as an alias.

"Whether you like it or not Estrada is a brand name. It's been in politics for the past 50 years," he explained, adding that some people in "rural areas" also refer to him as an Estrada.

Ejercito was close to reelection in the 2019 midterm polls but failed to make the cut, placing 13th in the senatorial race.

His half-brother Jinggoy Estrada — who also failed to win a Senate seat in the past elections — is likewise seeking a return to the upper chamber next year.