Luisa Pimentel Ejército–Estrada (; born June 2, 1930), commonly known as Loi Ejército, is a Filipina politician and physician who last served as a
Senator of the Philippines
The Senate of the Philippines () is the upper house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House of Representatives as the lower house. The ...
from 2001 to 2007. She is married to former
Philippine
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Joseph Ejercito Estrada, and was the twelfth
First Spouse of the Philippines
The first lady or first gentleman of the Philippines () is the courtesy title given to the host or hostess of Malacañang Palace, the residence of the head of state and head of government of the Philippines.
The title is traditionally held by t ...
from 1998 to 2001. Her son,
Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, is an incumbent senator since 2022 and previously from 2004 to 2016.
Early life and career
Ejercito was born Luisa Fernandez Pimentel on June 2, 1930 to Rufino Pimentel and Manuela Fernandez (1907–1994). She grew up and received her primary and secondary education in the town of
Iba in
Zambales
Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales (; ; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is Iba, Zambales, Iba, which is located in t ...
. She later pursued higher education at
University of Santo Tomas
The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...
, where she obtained an associate in arts degree from the
College of Liberal Arts in 1949 and doctor of medicine in 1954. After which, she worked as a professor at the university's
Faculty of Medicine and Surgery and as a physician at the
University of Santo Tomas Hospital
The University of Santo Tomas Hospital (''simply'' UST Hospital or USTH) is a hospital located at the University of Santo Tomas. The hospital has two divisions, a clinical teaching hospital that offers inexpensive medical care for indigent pa ...
. She later worked at the
National Center for Mental Health
The National Center for Mental Health (), is a 4,200-bed psychiatric hospital occupying 47 hectares of land in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is PhilHealth-accredited.
Due to its size and prominence in Mandaluyong, it i ...
(NCMH), where she became a
Junior Resident. There, she met her husband, actor
Joseph Estrada
Joseph Ejercito Estrada (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor, who served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 until his resignation in 2001. ...
.
In 1960, she was a Training-Fellow at the
Royal Park Hospital
Royal Park Psychiatric Hospital, commonly known as Royal Park is a former Receiving House and Psychiatric Hospital located in Parkville. Operating for over 90 years, Royal Park Hospital was the first psychiatric hospital established in Victo ...
in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
Ballarat Mental Hospital Department. She also served as a Training Fellow at Ararat Mental Hospital in 1961. In 1962, she returned to the Philippines and established the Mental Health Department at
Davao General Hospital
The Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) is the largest government hospital under the Department of Health of the Republic of the Philippines. It is located at the JP Laurel Ave, Bajada, Davao City. It began as the ''Davao Medical Center ...
in
Davao City
Davao City, officially the City of Davao, is a City of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the List of Philippine cities and municipalities ...
. For fifteen years, starting in 1972, she has also been involved as a volunteer doctor at San Martin de Porres Charity Hospital in
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to:
* San Juan, Puerto Rico
* San Juan, Argentina
* San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines
San Juan may also refer to:
Places Arge ...
.
Due to Estrada's extramarital affair with
Guia Gomez in the 1960s, Ejercito separated from her husband for 18 years and moved to the United States with their three children.
She and Estrada were seen reunited again when he ran for senator in 1987.
Public role
A psychiatrist by profession, Loi was dubbed First Lady ng Masa (First Lady of the Masses) and Doktora ng Masa (Doctor of the Masses) because of her medical and outreach missions during her term.
On October 12, 1999, she received an
Honorary Doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
degree in philosophy from
Kyung Hee University
Kyung Hee University (KHU; ) is a Private university, private research university in South Korea with campuses in Seoul and Suwon. It was founded in 1949. Kyung Hee University is part of the Kyung Hee University System, which offers comprehensive ...
.
After her husband was deposed in the
Second EDSA Revolution
The Second EDSA Revolution (), also known as the Second People Power Revolution, EDSA 2001, or EDSA II (pronounced ''EDSA Two'' or ''EDSA Dos'', the Spanish word for "two"), was a political protest from January 17–20, 2001 which peacefully ...
in January 2001 and replaced by Vice President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...
, she ran as a candidate of the
Puwersa ng Masa
Puwersa ng Masa (PnM, Force of the Hoi polloi, Masses, also known as LDP–Pwersa ng Masa) was the Philippine opposition's political multi-party electoral alliance in the 2001 Philippine general election, May 14, 2001, midterm Legislative electio ...
opposition coalition for a seat in
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. In the days after Estrada and her son Jinggoy were arrested on April 25 for plunder, she was among the politicians who spoke out against the arrest at pro-Estrada rallies that preceded the
May 1 riots near
Malacañang Palace
Malacañang Palace (, ), officially known as Malacañán Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila district of San Miguel, Manila, San Miguel, along Jose Laurel S ...
. She won her senate seat after placing 11th overall in the Senate election in May 2001 and served in the
12th and the
13th Congress, making her the first First Lady to win a seat in the Senate. With the election of her son
Jinggoy in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, they became the first ever mother-and-son as incumbent senators in Philippine Senate history.

During her tenure (2001–2007), she authored 121 bills and 13 resolutions, some of which have already been enacted into law:
R.A. No. 9241 The National Health Insurance Program;
R.A. No. 9211 The No Smoking Act;
The Film Development Council of the Philippines,
R.A. No. 9165 The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act; and
The Clean Water Act.
Ejercito decided to seek re-election in
2007 Philippine Senate election, 2007, but she didn't push through with it. At the end of her Senate term, she retired from politics.
Post-Senate
In January 2014, letters sent to the
Department of Agriculture
An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
showed that Ejercito allocated her
pork barrel
''Pork barrel'', or simply ''pork'', is a metaphor for allocating government spending to localized projects in the representative's district or for securing direct expenditures primarily serving the sole interests of the representative. The u ...
to at least two non-governmental organizations linked to
Janet Lim-Napoles during her Senate term.
In June 2014, she was named as the personal physician of her son
Jinggoy, who was one of the senators implicated and detained for their alleged involvement in the pork barrel scam.
On June 2, 2022, coinciding with her 91st birthday, she released her memoir entitled “''Love, Mommyla: My Memories of 9 Decade''s,” a 104-pager published by her daughter Jackie.
Percentage of the sales of the memoir would go to their medical missions.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ejercito, Loi
1930 births
Living people
21st-century Filipino politicians
21st-century Filipino women politicians
Loi
Loi
Filipino academics
Filipino medical doctors
Filipino psychiatrists
Filipino Roman Catholics
Filipino women medical doctors
First ladies and gentlemen of the Philippines
Ilocano people
People from Zambales
Politicians from Zambales
Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino politicians
Senators of the 12th Congress of the Philippines
Senators of the 13th Congress of the Philippines
Spouses of presidents of the Philippines
University of Santo Tomas alumni
Women members of the Senate of the Philippines