Presumptive senator JV Ejercito on Monday said he hopes to have a professional working relationship with his brother, Jinggoy Estrada, as they are both poised to return to the Senate after the May 9 elections.
The sons of former President Joseph Estrada are both part of the winners' circle in the senatorial race based on the partial and unofficial tally, with JV ranking 10th and Jinggoy in the 12th spot.
While not on good terms, Ejercito said they must set aside their personal differences in order to work well together for the next six years.
READ: JV, Jinggoy Both Eye Senate Comeback, Will Either One Give Way?
"I hope it's going to be professional. As long as it doesn't get into our work, yung personal, siguro kanya-kanya na lang," he told CNN Philippines in an interview.
"I have to be honest, it will take time for our relationship to heal because there are a lot of things that happened especially during this campaign," he added.
Ejercito admitted that his "dilemma" of him and his brother running simultaneously made his campaign in the May 9 elections more difficult, aside from the lack of sufficient funding and strong backing from the two leading presidential teams.
Ejercito ran as an independent candidate, but he was part of the senatorial slates of Sen. Panfilo Lacson and Sen. Manny Pacquiao.
With Ejercito and Estrada making it in the winners' circle, there will now be three pairs of senators who come from their own families, the two others are Sen. Cynthia Villar and her son, presumptive Sen. Mark Villar, and Sen. Pia Cayetano and her brother, presumptive Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.
Because of this possibility, Ejercito admitted that he had to weigh things before the filing of candidacy, as he said he supports an anti-political dynasty bill.
"I personally believe with more than 100 million Filipinos, there are a lot of people there who also want to serve, who are also capable, but don't have the name, don't have the machinery and the means to get themselves elected. Sabi ko parang hindi talaga maganda tignan," he said.
Ejercito, however, said he wanted another term in the Senate to oversee the implementation of the Universal Healthcare Law and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development --- two of the measures he pushed that were passed only a few months after his first term as senator ended in 2019.
Ejercito and the 11 other winning senators will be officially proclaimed by the Commission on Elections this week after the canvassing of votes is finished.
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