Francis Escudero

Escudero's involvement in politics started in the 1980s as an organizer for the local campaign of his father.[12] He first expressed interest in running for public office as municipal councilor of Sorsogon when he was 22. At 25, he again indicated his intention to run, this time as mayor of the municipality.[9] However, on both occasions, his family forbade him from entering politics and insisted that he finish his law studies before embarking on a political career.[9] Consequently, Escudero was 28 when he began his political career. He was elected representative of the first district of Sorsogon in 1998 and was one of the youngest lawmakers in the 11th Congress.

Escudero was a member of the Nationalist People's Coalition, the second biggest political party[13] in the Philippines, from 1998 to 2009.

He was elected Assistant Majority Floor Leader of the 11th Congress from June 1998 to November 2000 and became Second Deputy Majority Floor Leader from November 2000 to January 2001. He was Assistant Deputy Majority of the 11th Congress from January to June 2001. In his last term as member of the House of Representatives, he served as Minority Floor Leader from 2004 to 2007.[14]

While in Congress, Escudero pushed for the cityhood of Sorsogon. On August 16, 2000, Republic Act 8806 was passed, merging the municipalities of Sorsogon and Bacon into a component city of Sorsogon province. The law was ratified during a plebiscite on December 16, 2000, and Sorsogon functioned as a city on June 30, 2001, with the assumption into office of its first officials.[15]

In 2004, Escudero figured prominently in the Philippine presidential elections as the campaign spokesperson[16] of presidential candidate Fernando Poe, Jr., a popular movie actor. Poe eventually lost to the incumbent president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in a highly contested electoral exercise.[17][18]

When evidence of alleged electoral fraud surfaced, Escudero was among the lawmakers who moved for the impeachment[19] of then President Arroyo. However, the President's allies in Congress voted to drop the impeachment complaint.[20]

On September 6, 2005, Escudero voted no on the dropping of impeachment complaints against President Arroyo.[21] He explained, "It is the truth that has lost. But the search for the truth does not end today. The president and her allies will always be haunted by questions."[22] A new set of impeachment case was filed on 2006 and Escudero maintained his vote against its dismissal.[23] Despite another round of defeat, Escudero said the results "will not change the fact that there was cheating, lying, anomalies and stealing in government."[24]

Escudero belonged to the anti-Charter Change bloc who voted against the constitutional reform initiatives of then Speaker Jose De Venecia.[9] He believed these attempts to change the Constitution are nothing but last ditch efforts to keep the president and his allies in power.[25]

Escudero was a member of a group of NGO-legislators proposing an alternative national budget called "Imperatives of Real and Equitable Growth: An Alternative Proposal for Financing the Millennium Development Goals in the 2007 Budget". This is in response to the proposed national budget of the administration for not being perceptive to the social development needs of the Philippines.[26]

Senator Escudero during a session with the Philippine Senate, September 24, 2014

On January 30, 2007, Escudero filed his candidacy[27] for the Senate of the Philippines. He was elected to the Senate with the second highest tally of votes, slightly behind Loren Legarda.[28]

In the 14th Congress of the Philippines, Escudero chaired the Senate Committees on Justice and Human Rights; Ways and Means; and National Defense. In the 15th Congress, he headed the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights and the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. He also led the Joint Oversight Committees on Ecological Solid Waste Management and the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Clean Air Act.

On October 29, 2009, Escudero announced his resignation from the Nationalist People's Coalition and became an independent.[29][30][31] Escudero was expected to run for the presidency but he did not. Instead, he endorsed the team-up of Senator Benigno Aquino III and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay. The two political figures, who belong to opposing camps, won as President and Vice President, respectively.[32]

On October 2, 2012, Escudero filed for reelection.[33][34] Prior to the official campaign period, Escudero, Legarda, and Grace Poe were expected to run as common candidates of both the administration and opposition slates. However, the opposition group United Nationalist Alliance junked the three Senate bets.[35][36] Escudero remained independent but ran as part of the administration-backed coalition Team PNoy. Garnering 17,502,358 votes [37] out of 40,214,324[38] registered voters who actually voted, he won another term as senator.[39]

During the initial announcement of Senate chairmanships in the 16th Congress, Escudero got the Education Committee but ended up as chairman of the powerful Finance Committee.[40][41] Majority Floor Leader Alan Cayetano explained, "Because there was no decision yet on who will be the chairperson of the Committee on Finance, and since it’s one of the biggest committees or one with the largest jurisdiction, traditionally the chairman of the Committee on Finance would not have any other committee. So Senator Escudero graciously gave up the chairmanship of the committee on education because he took over the Committee on Finance."[41]

Chiz Escudero declares vice presidential bid, September 18, 2015

Citing a possible bid for higher office in the next elections, Escudero resigned as chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance and as co-chair of the Joint Congressional Committee on Public Expenditures on July 28, 2015.[42][43] In his letter to Senate President Franklin Drilon, Escudero wrote, "However, given my public pronouncements regarding a possible candidacy for higher office in 2016, I believe that it behooves me to step down at this juncture to ensure that deliberations on the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) – considered the single most important piece of legislation passed by Congress each year – are untainted by suspicions or perceptions of partisan politics."[44]

Long rumored as the possible running mate of leading presidential candidate Grace Poe, Escudero officially announced his candidacy for Vice President of the Philippines on September 15, 2015 at the historic Club Filipino.[45][46] In her introduction, Poe enumerated the accomplishments of Escudero as a legislator both in the House and the Senate.[46] said, "It’s true Senator Chiz is my friend, but for the nation, my reason for teaming up with him is personal trust. He is a person who can be trusted, a person who has experience and a person who has already done something for the people." [47]

Presidential frontrunner and Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte called the combination of Poe and Escudero as an "excellent" tandem because of his political experience and her ability to provide ascendancy.[48]

A day after his declaration, the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) administered the oath-taking of 200 officials from Batangas, Laguna, and Quezon as members in part because of support for the Poe-Escudero ticket.[49][50][51] Talks are rife the NPC, in coalition with other political parties including the Nacionalista Party, the National Unity Party, and the Makabayan bloc, will back the Poe-Escudero tandem in the coming elections.[52][53] Former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office board member Florencio Noel revealed, at least eight party-list groups have also expressed support for Poe and Escudero.[54]

In early 2016, Escudero began leading the vice presidential opinion polls being statistically tied with Senator Bongbong Marcos several times, before being beaten by Marcos by April. Escudero continued to drop in April, maintaining third place behind Marcos and congresswoman Leni Robredo.[55] A day after the election, on May 10, 2016, Escudero conceded the race, placing fourth among six candidates with 12% of the votes in the unofficial Comelec transparency server count, behind Robredo, Marcos and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.[56]

Escudero was elected Governor of Sorsogon and began his duties on June 30, 2019.