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Manila, Philippines - Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada immediately came to his son, Senator JV Ejercito’s defense after a court issued a suspension order against the Senator in connection with the anomalous acquisition of firearms for the San Juan City police when he was still the city’s mayor.
According to the former President, Senator JV just prioritized the purchase of the firearms for the sake of peace and order, similar to what President Rodrigo Duterte is doing now.
Estrada added, “the money came from the calamity funds. It was diverted by JV for the purchase of the firearms because the police, at that time, are short of firearms.”
The Sandiganbayan 5th Division slapped Senator JV a 90-day suspension for his alleged anomalous purchase of Php2.1 million worth of firearms using the city’s calamity funds.
Mayor Erap said that when he was still the mayor of San Juan, he also diverted some calamity funds to purchase more pressing needs of the city.
“I am also doing that. I’ve been getting the help of my friends in the Chinese community to fund my projects. Not a single centavo went to the pocket of JV. The money was spent for the purchase of firearms for the police to strengthen the campaign against criminalities. So, what’s wrong with that?”
Mayor Erap insisted that the public should even recognize his son’s effort for prioritizing the peace and order of their city.
“What they should look at is the good objective. That is the reason why I received the Php200milllion jueteng money which I placed in the Muslim Youth Foundation that sent many young Muslims to school.”
The older Estrada was indicted by the Sandiganbayan in 2001 in connection with the above mentioned issue.
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