Sorsogon Governor Chiz Escudero, the only incumbent provincial chief executive who is running for senator, is set to cast his ballot for the May 9 general election in Buhatan Integrated National School in Sorsogon City.
Escudero, who has consistently maintained his top ranking in various pre-election surveys, will be joined by his wife, global brand ambassador and social media celebrity Heart Evangelista-Escudero, who will also be voting in the same school under Precinct No. 0079A.
Escudero has been in public service for 24 years, starting as a congressman representing the first district of Sorsogon in 1998 and was reelected for two more terms. He staged a successful senatorial bid that ranked him the 2nd candidate with the highest number of votes in 2007—his first term. He sought a second term in 2013 and landed number four in the senatorial race.
One of his key legislations as first-term senator was Republic Act (RA) 9504, which exempted minimum wage workers from paying income tax and increased personal exemption for other employees. He also sought to increase the maximum insurance coverage of bank deposits to Php500,000 to give depositors more protection under RA 9576.
He also sponsored RA 10931, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, that allowed free tuition and other school fees in state universities and colleges, local universities and colleges accredited and recognized by the Commission on Higher Education, and state-run technical-vocational institutions.
With Escudero at the helm of the Senate Committee on Justice on Human Rights, the country saw the enactment of four key laws that provided social and human rights protection to the Filipino people.
These include the Anti-Vagrancy Law (RA 10158), the Anti-Torture Act (RA 9745) and the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act (RA 10353), which became Asia’s first “Deceparacidos” law that made the crime of enforced disappearance punishable by imprisonment.
His solid track record in the field of human rights was further cemented when he co-authored and sponsored RA 10368, or the Human Rights Victims and Recognition Act of 2013, which took cognizant of the heroism and sacrifices of Filipinos who were victims of summary execution, torture, enforced or involuntary disappearance, and other gross human rights violations during the Martial Law years in the country. The recognition, the law says, should be in the form of monetary and non-monetary reparations.
Under various laws that created 284 courts across the country during his 12 years in the Senate, Escudero was responsible for the creation of 121 local courts and co-authored and sponsored 163 others—measures meant to serve justice efficiently and effectively for those who are in the countryside.
As chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources in the 16th Congress (2016), Escudero was named “Clean Air Champion” by the Coalition of Clean Air Advocates Philippines.
If elected to the Senate anew, Escudero said he would focus on giving more autonomy to local government units, ensure the judicious and wise utilization of the annual budget, and help transition the pandemic-weary economy to recovery, among others.
President Duterte is endorsing Escudero’s senatorial bid, saying the governor will play a big role in crafting key pieces of legislation and reforms at a time when the country is besieged with challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Duterte’s daughter, Davao City Mayor and vice-presidential candidate Sara Duterte-Carpio is personally backing Escudero’s Senate comeback bid.
The tandems of Senator Ping Lacson and Senate President Tito Sotto; Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Kiko Pangilinan; and Senator Manny Pacquiao and Rep. Lito Atienza have adopted Escudero in their senatorial slates.
The League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) has also included Escudero in its senatorial bets along with five other candidates. Mayors from CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) and Eastern Samar, who belong to the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), are likewise backing Escudero’s Senate return.
His candidacy is also backed by various party-lists such as Kontra Brownout, Ang Probinsyano, Ang Kabuhayan, Agimat, An Waray, ARISE, BHW, Kusog Bikolano, KAPUSO-PM, Makabayan, and Uswag Ilonggo.
The 200,000-strong Federation of Free Farmers (FFF), one of the biggest non-government organizations in the country, Balay Mindanao Group, and the youth-oriented Nationalist Social-Democratic Society (NSDS) have also endorsed Escudero.