Jun 062013
 
Jinggoy willing to be half-brother JV's adviser in Senate

Despite a perceived rift between him and his half-brother, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada is willing to act as San Juan Rep. JV Ejercito’s adviser when the congressman assumes his Senate post in July. “If he seeks advice, then okay. If he does not, I cannot do anything,” Estrada said at a press briefing Thursday. Estrada quipped that he is willing to play the part of the elder brother because Ejercito, who won in the recently concluded elections, might lose his way in the Senate. “If he seeks guidance, as an elder brother and senior member of the Senate, I will support or even guide him. Baka mawala eh,” he said in jest. Estrada is the son of former President and Manila Mayor-elect Joseph Estrada with former senator Loi Estrada, while Ejercito is the former president’s son with incumbent San Juan City Mayor Guia Gomez. Last November, the younger Estrada publicly expressed disappointment over Ejercito’s reported statement that their sibling rivalry may soon reach the Senate. Ejercito also supposedly refused to shoot a television advertisement with Estrada during the campaign period—an incident downplayed by their father. Ejercito, for his part, said he will welcome any guidance from his elder brother. “As an incoming neophyte senator, his experience and advise will be of great help,” he said in a statement. Ejercito, however, refuted the senator’s statement that he might get lost in the Senate. — KBK, GMA News