Francis Joseph "Chiz" Guevara Escudero

Francis Joseph "Chiz" Guevara Escudero was born on October 10, 1969 in Manila, Philippines, the middle child of the three children of former Agriculture Secretary Salvador "Sonny" H. Escudero III and educator Evelina B. Guevara. His father was elected in 2007 to the House seat vacated by his son.

Escudero attended the University of the Philippines Integrated School for both his Elementary and Secondary Education, and graduated in 1981 and 1985 respectively. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Political Science at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City in 1988 and Bachelors of Laws at the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1993.

He received his Masters in International and Comparative Law at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D. C. in 1996.

At the University of the Philippines, Escudero was Secretary General of the Association of Law Students of the Philippines from 1992–1993. He also 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. It was during this time that Escudero got his first victory as a debater when, as a "frat man," he was "politely ordered" by his seniors at the Alpha Phi Beta fraternity to represent the group in the campus-wide gab fest. A consistent honor student, he was a member of the Order of the Purple Feather or the U.P. Law Honor Society from 1989–1993.


Prior to becoming a lawyer, Escudero was a teaching assistant at the Department of Political Science, University of the Philippines in 1988–1989. In 1989, he became Junior Political Analyst of the Batangas Development Planning office.


From 1993–1994, he was Junior Associate at the Bautista, Picazo, Buyco, Tan and Fider Law Office. After this, he was Legal Consultant for the UNLAD Ship Management and Manning Corp. and Legal Counsel for the Crusade Against Violence (CAV), both in 1994 to 1995. Since 1995 until the present, he is a partner of the Escudero, Marasigan, Sta. Ana, Vallente and Villareal Law Office (EMSAVIL Law).

From 1996 to 1998, he was a Senior Lecturer at the College of Law at the University of the Philippines. He was also lecturer at the Graduate School of the Ateneo de Manila University in 2000.

From May to August 2000, he hosted Ngayon na Pinoy, a television program that aired on RPN 9. He anchored the radio programs "Magandang Umaga, Bayan," at the Angel Radio, DZAR 1026 AM, Usapang de Campanilla and Usapang Legal, both at DZMM. He penned a column, "Usapang Legal ni Chiz Escudero" (later renamed "Say Chiz") in the newspapers Abante and Abante Tonite.

The son of a former cabinet member of the Marcos and Ramos administrations, Escudero is the Secretary General of the United Opposition, and a member of the Nationalist People's Coalition.

In 2005, he was named as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines (TOYM) in recognition of his selfless dedication as a youth leader which has resulted in significant contributions to the welfare of his countrymen as well as to the advancement of his field of endeavor.

In December last year, he was the only Filipino named in Asian News Networks’ Asia’s Idols. The award focused on those that did not only achieve something exemplary that year but are seen to change and shape their country’s and the region’s future.

Just this year, he was honored by the prestigious organization of global decision-makers, The World Economic Forum as one of the world’s Young Global Leaders of 2008. This honor is bestowed each year by the World Economic Forum to recognize and acknowledge the top 200-300 young leaders from around the world for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.

Recently, he was cited as a 2008 Anak TV Awardee for being one of Anak TV Seal’s Ten Most Admired TV Personalities.

As an elected Senator in 2007, he earned the second highest number of votes. At the Senate, he heads the Committee on Justice and Human Rights and the Committee on Constitutional Amendments Revision of Codes and Laws. He is the Vice Chair of the Committee on Local Government and Senate Representative to the Judicial and Bar Council.

Married to Christine Elizabeth R. Flores, they are blessed with their first-born, fraternal twins Maria Cecilia and Joaquin Cruz.

OTHER AWARDS
• 2008 Anak TV Seal's Ten Most Admired TV Personalities
• 2008, Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum
• 2007, Asia’s Idol, Asia News Network
• 2005 The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Awardee in Youth Leadership
• Gawad Papuri Awardee, April 2002
• Outstanding Congressman of the Year (Philippine Youth Association for Public Affairs, Inc.) February 2002
• Most Outstanding Congressman of the 1st Session of the 12th Congress (League of the Press Association of the Philippines) May 2002
• One of the Outstanding Solons of the 12th Congress (Public Eye Magazine) 2002
• Legislator of the Year (Philippine Media Research and Progress Report, Inc.), Sept. 2000
• Top Congressman (Pillars of the New Republic) 1999, 2000, 2001
• One of the Outstanding Solons of the 12th Congress (Public Eye Magazine) 2001
• Leaders of the 12th Congress (Pillars of the New Republic) 2001 & 2002
• Most Outstanding Solon (League of Press Associations of the Philippines.), 1998, 1999, 2000
• Outstanding Public Servant of the Year (National Media Statistics Research News Publication), Aug. 2000
• Exceptional Young Achievers (Development of Filipino Writers, Inc.) June 2000
• Grand Advocate of Press Freedom (League of Press Associations of the Philippines.) Nov. 1999
• Youth Achiever in the Government Sector (Development of the Filipino Youth) June 1999
• 9th KBP Golden Dove Awardee, Best Public Affairs Program 2000, "Magandang Umaga, Bayan," Angel Radio, DZAR 1026AM