Sorsogon’s Son Returns

Chiz is home again. After almost two decades in national politics, first as Sorsogon representative and
eventually as senator, he went back to his roots this year, as elected governor of the province of
Sorsogon.

“I have been serving the entire country for the longest time. I think it’s time I brought home what I
learned from all over the country and the world.” After all, Sorsogon is not just his hometown, but is also the place where his interest in politics and public service began.

THE CALL TO PUBLIC SERVICE
Chiz or Francis Joseph Guevara Escudero, started his political career at the age of 28. He admitted having
had intentions of running for office as early as his law school days, but his parents felt it was vital for him
to finish his studies first. He went to the University of the Philippines from grade school to law school
and completed a master’s degree in International and Comparative Law at Georgetown University in
Washington, DC.

While his political career started in 1998, Chiz’s training started much earlier. He remembers the kindling
of his inclination to politics when his father ran as an assemblyman in 1984, and as congressional
representative in 1987. Chiz handled the youth group called “Youth Volunteers for Sorsogon” that
went around the province for the campaign. In 1992, he dealt with the headquarter operations of his father’s campaign, and in 1995 he was in charge of sample ballot distribution and barangay captain training. He believes he knows how to run a grassroots campaign, and the local political scene was no stranger to him, especially after having won elections at a national level. “The transition was easy,” he recounts, “from running a national campaign nationwide covering 42,000 barangays, all of a sudden I was running in 541.”

For Chiz, his campaign for Sorsogon governor was more relaxed because it had fewer variables. The
area was smaller compared to a national level campaign, and more importantly, he already knew
everyone. “I never stopped coming home. I’ve always believed that it’s useless to be known nationwide if you do not have a province to come home to,” he explains.

VALUABLE LESSONS FROM A FAMILY LEGACY
It may have been easy, but Chiz knows he has a legacy to measure up to. His great grandfather was
Sorsogon governor during the war years, while his father served as a local representative. “My father’s legacy made me aspire to surpass what they accomplished,” he quips.