Estrada’s son ready to fight Sayyaf

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — Even while his father was questioning the legitimacy of the Arroyo administration, there was no question in Jude Ejercito’s mind about the identity of his commander-in-chief.

Jude, a reserve captain in the Philippine Air Force (PAF), said yesterday that his loyalty as a soldier shifted when the Armed Forces recognized Mrs. Arroyo as President of the Republic.

Now he’s even willing to join the attack forces against the Abu Sayyaf if ordered to do so.

"I am a soldier," said Jude, 23, the former president’s second son by his wife Luisa. "My loyalty as a soldier belongs to the commander-in-chief, whoever she or he is."

Jude attended ceremonies marking the change of command of the PAF’s 710th Special Operations Wing and the Air Reserve Command here.

Jude arrived unobtrusively during the ceremonies where Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Benjamin Defensor was guest of honor and speaker.

In full Air Force captain uniform, he was seated somewhere in the middle of the audience and no one seemed to have recognized him even as he left immediately after the ceremonies.

Jude was enlisted as an Air Force pilot reservist with the rank of captain in 1998, the year his father was elected president.

He said his ambition in the military is limited to being a full-fledged colonel, although he was considering the possibility of entering politics in the future.

However, Jude said that as a reservist, he has flown only presidential helicopters. "They would not allow me to fly Huey helicopters," he added.

After the rites, Jude and his security retinue rushed to two black vans, one a Mitsubishi Montero which he boarded with a close-in security aide, and the other a Nissan Safari boarded by his other escorts.

The Montero sported a huge sticker on its windshield that said "I love Loi," referring to his mother Dr. Luisa Ejercito, senatorial candidate of the opposition Puwersa ng Masa coalition.

Defensor, for his part, said Jude is not being given any special treatment. "That would give you some problems if you did," he said. "We treat our men equally, and no will have any special treatment."

Defensor said that Jude is a commander of an Air Force reservist squadron based at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

He expressed surprise that Jude attended the turnover installing Col. Ralph Flores as head of the Special Operations Wing and Col. Roberto Ricalde as chief of the Air Reserve Command based at the PAF in Clark.

The military’s defection to the opposition on Jan. 19 was seen as a turning point for people power II. Estrada left Malacañang the next day.