Chiz Escudero

Francis Escudero, more popularly known as Chiz, was a former member of the House of Representative who was elected senator in 2007.

He hailed from the province of Sorsogon in Bicol. His late father Salvador Escudero III was also representative of Sorsogon’s first district.

Though his father was a staunch supporter of former president Ferdinand Marcos, Escudero co-authored and sponsored laws that aim to address human rights violations. He is the principal author of the senate version of the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012, Human Rights Reparation and Recognition Act and the Anti-Torture Act.

He also helped in pushing for workers’ welfare when he sponsored the Tax Exemptions for Minimum Wage Earners and Increased Tax Exemptions in 2008.

Among the laws that he authored and co-sponsored are the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2007, Anti-Image Voyeurism Act of 2008 and the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2008. He voted for the controversial Reproductive Health Bill.

Escudero issued statements against the contractualization of labor and for upholding the integrity and dignity of government workers. Recently, he called for the provision of full insurance coverage for teachers who would be assisting in the May 13 elections, most especially, he added, those who would be deployed to election hotspots.

He also categorically said that he is against the oil deregulation law and has expressed support for a review of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira). Following the recent blackouts in Mindanao, he said the government should be allowed to continue to own and run hydroelectric plants to assure people of cheap sources of electricity.

Escudero, however, voted in favor of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which, according to its critics could be equated to “electronic martial law.”