Chiz Escudero
Francis Joseph "Chiz" Guevara Escudero (born October 10, 1969) is a Filipino politician and lawyer who has served as the 25th President of the Senate of the Philippines since May 20, 2024. Escudero has served as a Senator since 2022, and previously from 2007 to 2019. 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. He unsuccessfully run 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.
Early life
Francis Joseph Guevara Escudero was born on October 10, 1969, in Manila, Philippines, the second of the three children of the late Salvador "Sonny" Escudero III, who was then the director of UP Veterinary Hospital at the time of his birth and later served as the Agriculture Minister, representative of the first district of Sorsogon during the Marcos era, and Sorsogon representative until his death in 2012. His mother is Dr. Evelina B. Guevara-Escudero, a former representative of the first district of Sorsogon. Chiz Escudero's grandfather, Salvador Escudero Jr., was mayor of Casiguran, Sorsogon and a member of the Sorsogon Provincial Board. 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.
Escudero was educated in the Philippine public school system. 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).
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. A consistent honor student, Escudero was a member of the Order of the Purple Feather or the U.P. Law Honor Society (1989-1993). He became the Secretary General of the Association of Law Students of the Philippines on his senior year at law school (1992-1993).
Prior to becoming a lawyer, Escudero was a teaching assistant at the Department of Political Science, University of the Philippines (1988–1989). In 1989, he became a Junior Political Analyst of the Batangas Development Planning office.
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 also taught at the Graduate School of the Ateneo de Manila University in 2000.
