Francis Escudero

Chiz Escudero's grand-grandfather, Salvador C. "Gurang" Escudero Sr., entered politics in 1912 as councilor of Casiguran town and went on to become town mayor, provincial board member, and governor.

When the Japanese occupation broke out in 1942 he led one of the three guerilla units of the province.

Chiz Escudero was educated in the Philippine public school system.

Francis Joseph "Chiz" Guevara Escudero (, born October 10, 1969) is a Filipino lawyer and politician serving as a Senator since 2022, and previously from 2007 to 2019.

Chiz Escudero was born on October 10, 1969, in Manila, Philippines, the second of the three children of the late Salvador "Sonny" Escudero III, former Agriculture Minister and representative of the first district of Sorsogon during the Marcos era, and Sorsogon representative until his death in 2012.

His mother is congresswoman Dr. Evelina B. Guevara-Escudero the representative of the First District of Sorsogon.

Chiz Escudero's grandfather, Salvador Escudero Jr., was mayor/Provincial board member of Casiguran, Sorsogon.

Escudero's involvement in politics started in the 1980s as an organizer for the local campaign of his father.

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.

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.

Consequently, Escudero was 28 when he began his political career.

He attended the University of the Philippines Integrated School in elementary (1981) and high school (1985).

He obtained his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of the Philippines Diliman (1988) and Bachelor of Laws at the University of the Philippines College of Law (1993).

Prior to becoming a lawyer, Escudero was a teaching assistant at the Department of Political Science, University of the Philippines (1988–1989).

A consistent honor student, Escudero was a member of the Order of the Purple Feather or the U.P. Law Honor Society (1989-1993).

In 1989, he became a Junior Political Analyst of the Batangas Development Planning office.

At the University of the Philippines, Escudero joined the Alpha Phi Beta fraternity and was a member of the Alpha Phi Beta Debating Team, which was the 1991 U.P. Open Debate Champion.

He became the Secretary General of the Association of Law Students of the Philippines on his senior year at law school (1992-1993).

After he received his law degree, Escudero joined the Bautista, Picazo, Buyco, Tan and Fider Law Office in 1993 as junior associate.

A year later, he became a legal consultant of the UNLAD Ship Management and Manning Corp. and legal counsel of the Crusade Against Violence (CAV).

By 1995, he was a partner at his own firm, the Escudero, Marasigan, Sta.

Ana, Vallente and Villareal Law Office (EMSAVIL Law).

He remains with the firm to this day.

In 1996, Escudero received his master's degree in International and Comparative Law at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.

Aside from pursuing his law practice, Escudero was senior lecturer at the College of Law at University of the Philippines (1996-1998).

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 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 also taught at the Graduate School of the Ateneo de Manila University in 2000.

On July 3, 2000, Escudero was named a Commander of the Philippine Navy Reserve Command.

While serving as a lawmaker, Escudero also dabbled in media.

From May to August 2000, he hosted "Ngayon na Pinoy", a TV program on RPN-9.

He also anchored the radio programs "Magandang Umaga Bayan" on the Angel Radio, DZAR 1026 AM; and the "Usapang de Campanilla" and "Usapang Legal" both on DZMM.

Escudero also penned a column, "Usapang Legal ni Chiz Escudero" (later renamed "Say Chiz") in two tabloids: Abante and Abante Tonite.

He was Assistant Deputy Majority of the 11th Congress from January to June 2001.

He unsuccessfully ran for vice president of the Philippines in the 2016 elections as the running mate of Grace Poe.

Born to a family of politicians from Sorsogon, he attended the University of the Philippines from kindergarten through law school.

Prior to entering politics, he worked as a lawyer and lecturer and earned his Master of Laws degree from Georgetown University in the United States.

He recently served as governor of Sorsogon from 2019 to 2022, and was the representative for Sorsogon's 1st district from 1998 to 2007, as well as House Minority Leader from 2004 to 2007.