Maita Sanchez

Career Javier-Ejercito was involved in the entertainment industry before switching to politics. She had an acting career under the name Maita Sanchez. Her political career began with her election as mayor of Pagsanjan, a position she held for nine years until 2019.

In 2013, Javier-Ejercito faced scrutiny from the COMELEC regarding her campaign expenditures during her bid for a second term as mayor of Pagsanjan. The campaign spending limit for mayoralty candidates in Pagsanjan, based on its voting population of 22,584, was set at . Her Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) revealed that she spent a total of during her campaign, exceeding the legal spending cap by .

Following her term as mayor, she was elected vice mayor of Pagsanjan in May 2019. In the May 2022 elections, she announced her candidacy for mayor of Pagsanjan once again and subsequently lost. They have seven children: John Paul (Jet), Jorge Antonio Genaro (Jerico), Maria Guadalupe (Jhulia), Maria Angelica Victoria (died in 2004), an unnamed child (died in 2010), Juan Diego (Diego), and Maria Gabriela (Gabby). Three of their children also entered politics: Jerico unsuccessfully ran for vice governor of Laguna in 2022 and in 2025; Jhulia ran unsuccessfully for the Laguna Provincial Board from the 4th district in 2025; and Jet is a councilor of Pagsanjan since 2025.

She died at St. Luke's Medical Center – Quezon City, on November 3, 2024 at 12:01 am PHT, at the age of 55. Her wake was held at their residence, the Don Porong Ejercito 1912 Ancestral Mansion, in Pagsanjan from November 3 to 9, followed by a funeral procession in the town and funeral Mass at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Church on November 9. Her remains were cremated at the Arlington Memorial Chapels in Quezon City on November 10.

Filmography