JV complies with Sandiganbayan suspension order

Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito will comply with the Sandiganbayan order suspending him from office even if he has legal recourse to contest it.

Ejercito said he has asked the Senate leadership not to intervene on his behalf. Nor would he appeal the order, he said, “so we could get this over and done with.” “Really sad,” he said in a text message. “Hard to be accused of something you are not guilty of. I will not destroy my name for a P2-million transaction or any amount for that matter,” he said. “I have kept my track record clean since 2001, no blemish, no record of graft and corruption except this case.”

Ejercito reiterated that he did not regret the P2-million emergency purchase of high-powered firearms for the police in 2008 using calamity funds when he was mayor of San Juan as it was meant to save the lives of his constituents owing to the rising crime incidents, including bank robberies, at the time.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III told reporters on Tuesday the suspension order was not automatic and that the Sandiganbayan has recognized the Senate’s discretion on the matter. –