ER Ejercito wins Pagsanjan mayor race, faces conviction

Former Laguna governor ER Ejercito secured victory in Pagsanjan's mayoral race on May 14, despite being declared guilty by the Sandiganbayan and facing perpetual disqualification from running for government positions.

Ejercito received over 9,100 votes, surpassing his closest competitor Cesar Areza who garnered 7,483 votes based on the partial count from the Commission on Elections.

Running under Akay, the political party of Laguna Governor-elect Sol Aragones, Ejercito sees this win as vindication after being removed from office in 2014 due to overspending allegations and facing a graft case for alleged illegal contracts on insurance claims during his term as mayor of Pagsanjan in 2008.

Despite the Supreme Court's First Division declaring him guilty and sentencing him with six to eight years in detention, Ejercito remains optimistic about overturning the decision through legal procedures such as motion for reconsideration and en banc review.

Ejercitonoted that his fight wasn't over yet since he didn’t do anything wrong and emphasized that there is still a procedure to follow before the final decision is made.