Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero is a politican I believe we ought to closely observe in the months and years to come. Currently one of the youngest members of the Senate at 38, he is already considered as one of the opposition stalwarts in that body.
He is currently in his first term as a Senator of the Republic for he was elected to the Senate in the May 2007 elections. However, it should be noted that in less than two years as a Senator, he has already authored 32 bills. Prior to the Senate, he served as a Member of the House of Representatives where three of his bills were passed into law.
Going through the bills he has submitted to the Senate, one would see that among his major areas of focus are aiding government retirees (SB*s 1473, 1474, and 1475); protecting Filipino credit card holders against usurious interest rates and surcharges (SB 1438); upholding human rights by penalizing the use of torture and other inhuman/degrading forms of punishment (SB 1306), by penalizing enforced of involuntary disappearance (SB 1307), and by expanding the jurisdiction and strengthening the prosecutorial powers of the Commission on Human Rights (SB 1437).
He also authored bills to protect freedom of speech by decriminalizing libel (SB 1403); and to improve the administration of justice in the country by granting additional compensation to members of the judiciary (SB 1491).
This post should in no way be taken as an endorsement for like a lot of you, I still have to familiarize myself with his positions on the other critical issues that hound our country. Let me also add, in the interest of full disclosure, that my person is neither known to him nor to any of his associates and relatives. To paraphrase the late American humorist Will Rogers, all I know about Sen. Escudero is based on what I read in the papers. I write this merely as a student and observer of Philippine politics.
But from what I have so far observed, and I may be seriously mistaken in my observation, Sen. Escudero seems to be the type who lets the people know in no uncertain terms where he stands on critical issues. This is in stark contrast to a particular Senator whose last name is Roxas.
He has so far been consistent in exposing problems and corruption within the Arroyo administration. We may agree or sometimes disagree with him but the guy deserves credit for at least taking a stand. In my humble opinion, I believe that that approach/style is one of the ways Sen. Escudero has decided to differentiate himself from other politicians.
I don't know where his political career will lead him. I won't be surprised if he runs for President someday. Positive or negative, some of you may have already formed an opinion on him. I, for one, would be interested to find out what that is. But I think those of us who are interested in following the Philippine political scene ought to closely observe his performance and decide whether he is the type of politician who would be worthy of our support.
Sources:
Chiz Escudero - Official Website
Francis Escudero - Wikipedia
Senate of the Philippines - Official Website
Photo credit: Chiz Escudero Official Website
*SB = Senate Bill
22 responses:
So far, he has been consistent with everything he stands for. No anomalies linked to his name. What I like about him most is his choice of using the vernacular to address the people. NO high falluting words from this guy. He makes sure everybody understands what he is saying.
Rolly,
I'm glad to hear that. I hope he remains that way for the sake of our country. Our country cries out for sincere, forward-looking, and honest leadership.
I agree his credentials are impressive but still... his close association with that mustachioed fat guy in San Juan makes me very wary of him. Oh and I'm probably around one or two degrees of separation away from him. He's my cousin's husband's (who is now the mayor of his town in Sorsogon) "kinakapatid", His Dad was the principal sponsor at their wedding.
Rudy,
Thanks for that info, Pards. He's a loyal NPC party member and I'm sure he gets a lot of support too from Danding Cojuangco. I just hope he doesn't inherit the bad and corrupt habits of some of the top honchos in his party. I hope.
I don't have anything against Francis "Chiz" Escudero. Alas the mere fact that he is a politician is a SURE fact that he is corrupt.
He would not be where he is without corruption.
The political system in the Philippines is based on money, lots of money. You need to buy votes, you need to give money to your allies.
Where do he (they) get the money from???
How much money do you need to get elected as barangay captain, as counselor, as mayor, as senator, as congressman, as president?
Without money you will not be elected.
So when you are elected you need to get back your investment, make personal profits and get enough money to prepare for the next elections.
The system makes them corrupt.
One of my relatives was elected to the Katipunan ng Kabataan. They almost immediately corrupted him to get his signature for some barangay projects. So people are corrupted as soon as they enter politics.
Indeed a very sad state of affairs!
Spot on, Sidney. I don't expect this guy to be totally squeaky clean. I just hope that in the years that he will spend in politics that he won't lose sight of the goals he had set for himself and for his constituents.
I read somewhere that a corrupt politician who gets things done is much better than an honest politician who doesn't get anything done. Nothing is going to stop Mr. Escudero if he wants to be corrupt.
I just hope that he would not get corrupted so bad that he'll end up being no better than a lot of these politicans who ask for millions of dollars in kickbacks from foreign investors. Awful.
i do agree that all politicians in the Philippines are corrupt. as sidney puts it, you can never enter politics without money and support from people who expects favors in return. but choosing the lesser evil, of course, Chiz Escudero is a choice.
so far, his stance is consistent and courageous. i do hope he would not be fully corrupted. and that, i mean, i hope his current situation and position will not prompt him to do acts at the expense of the Filipino people.
Hi Bing,
I'm with you. I haven't read up on him and his work in the papers as much as I should have. However, he does seem promising. It'll be a waste again if he ends up becoming the type of politician we all abhor.
I don't have a big idea on this because I am not a close follower of Phil. politics and I haven't even heard of this guy until I read about him here. But if what you are saying is true, about how he has done so much and gone so far without getting crap up his tails and without turning into a watered-down version of the eager newbie he was when he first started through the years, now that gives me a glimpse of one thing I have long given up on... hope for our country.
Maybe he's the next best thing that ever happened to the Phils. since, I don't know... pandesal? (hehehe... just kidding!) :D
Hi Jet,
I sure hope that he'll be smart, wise, and decent enough to do what is right for the country.
If, to borrow your words, he does turn out to be the best for our country since hot pandesal, then this humble panadero would be more than happy to make pandesal for him every morning. :). Hehe
Thanks.
Sure alright I will watch him. In fact I'm watching him now in yet another Senate hearing live on ANC. :D
He is from the same mold as the rest of them. A political dynasty who spends more time in Manila instead of attending to his constituents which he represents. But sure let's credit him for being an efficient and industrious Senator who didn't get my vote simply by associating with the 'wrong' crowd.
Hi Daphne,
His father was a Marcos cabinet member (Dr. Salvador Escudero). I think, and I may be mistaken, he served as Agriculture Secretary and was also a KBL Assemblyman at the time. So yes, I agree with you, that being a member of the NPC, he does associate with Danding and a number of former Marcos cronies/supporters.
I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. For now. I will watch his performance critically. As soon as I notice that he's starting to veer off the proper path, then I assure you, given my little space in the blogosphere, that I will still write an attack piece on him.
time will tell. at least, at his age, he isn't tainted with blood money. hopefully, this will continue. we have seen others who have started in the right path and slowly ventured to the other side.
Ipanema,
Time will indeed tell. If he does decide to venture to the evil side, then let us all pounce on him through our blogs. I just hope, for our country's sake, that it won't have to come to that.
very true. right now, this Lozada thing is giving me a pounding headache. it's good that some of my friends aren't blogging this now. time to bury it.
Ipanema,
I don't know if this Lozada hearing will lead to any indictments. I follow it through the internet and hearing the accusations fly from both sides, I also can't help but get a headache. Sigh. The sad thing in our country and with the way the media covers events like this is that we ultimately reach a point where it becomes so hard to tell who's telling the truth and what the truth is.
I really don't know much about this guy but from what you're saying he looks like he plays straight and knows what he's doing :)
Thanks for the info :)
BW,
You're welcome, Pards. So far, he hasn't been a balimbing and he has stood by his party. I may not always agree with his party's stand on issues but I'm willing to give him credit for everything that he's done. He'll be closely observed though.
I really haven't been following philippine politics for some time now. medyo sawa na ako.
Mon,
Can't blame you. The raucous and oftentimes dirty nature of Philippine politics can exhaust even the most fervent of its followers.
I know that Chiz is gaining attention, especially amongst young people. Don't know much about him, either, except that he comes from a family of politicians as well, thereby a red flag at this point (I agree with Sidney).
I don't know ... I still see no true Filipino leader coming up on my radar. At least the African-Americans may now have one with Obama. So for now, we will be known more for Asia's most prolific producer of boxers, singers and dancers.
Eric,
Thanks for the input. You're a lot closer to the action than I am. Yes, his father served on the Marcos cabinet and was also a KBL assemblyman. Those affiliations are enough to raise red flags with me. I just want to give him the benefit of the doubt at this stage in his political career. But once he does go on over to the dark side, there won't be any hesitation on my part to use this blog to criticize him.
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