WHILE his suspension order over an alleged graft case is still being studied by the Senate Committee on Rules, Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito on Monday said he will voluntarily start serving his suspension today (November 8) as he vowed respect for the rule of law.
“I believe in the fairness and probity of the Sandiganbayan as an institution. And as a law-abiding citizen, I submit to the authority of the Supreme Court, which recently denied our motion questioning the suspension order,” said Ejercito in a privilege speech delivered on the Senate floor.
The senator delivered the speech as the Sandiganbayan’s Sixth Division issued an order preventing Ejercito from joining President Rodrigo Duterte’s delegation to Malaysia and Thailand.
The Sixth Division is hearing the technical malversation case against Ejercito over the alleged misuse of P2.1-million calamity funds for high-powered firearms when Ejercito was San Juan City mayor in 2008.
But the Fifth Division, which is also hearing Ejercito’s graft charge for allegedly causing undue disadvantage to government in the deal, granted the senator’s same plea for travel.
Associate Justice Rodolfo Ponferrada, head of the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division, said he sees no cogent reason for Ejercito to be part of the Philippine delegation to Malaysia and Thailand when he is under a 90-day preventive suspension by the Fifth Division.
“How could you be part of the official delegation when you are under preventive suspension?” Ponferrada asked.
The Supreme Court affirmed the 90-day suspension order and junked Ejercito’s plea for a temporary restraining order “for lack of merit,” saying Ejercito failed to show that the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division committed grave abuse of discretion in issuing the assailed order.
The Supreme Court then directed the Senate President Koko Pimentel to enforce the suspension of Ejercito but Pimentel noted that the suspension was not among the mandated duties of a Senate President and referred the SC order to the Senate committee on rules chaired by Senate Majority Leader Tito Sotto.
Although the suspension will deny the Filipino people of representation and public service, Ejercito vowed to temporarily leave his job in the Senate.
“I will do so cognizant of the support of the honorable Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Majority Floor Leader Vicente Sotto III, and my esteemed colleagues in this chamber,” said Ejercito.
“I will do so because I wish to spare the Senate and my colleagues the unnecessary distraction from the important work that we do here,” he added. “We face many serious challenges in our country and we cannot afford to get entangled in a legal conflict with a co-equal branch of government.”
“I will temporarily leave my position as Senator, but I will continue my advocacies in my private capacity because I believe that serving the people can still be done outside of government,” Ejercito added.
But Ejercito maintained that the graft case was part of an attempt to tarnish his track record.
“I have tried my best to keep my name clean, in fact there is no blemish on my track record as a public servant until this case progressed to my surprise. I was extra careful while I was Mayor and as Congressman since I was one of the faces of the opposition back then during GMA’s administration. One wrong move and for sure, I will be in trouble.”
He noted that “the alleged anomalous transaction is anomalous only to the malicious minds and ill intent of my political adversaries.”
“It must be remembered that there was a crime wave in San Juan City as well as the entire Metro Manila some time while I was Mayor, and as the father of the city, I had to act decisively,” he said.
“I believe that, for three consecutive terms, I have served the people of San Juan City well. Under my leadership and with the support of the people of San Juan, we were able to increase its annual revenue from P300 million when I was first elected into office, to P1.2 billion when I finished my third term. The economic boom in San Juan was largely due to the increase in investments and improvement of local businesses as a result of confidence and trust in the leadership of the local government,” extolled Ejercito.