Juan Country » Francis Chiz Escudero

Chiz Escudero won’t run anymore in 2010

Carlo Ople — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:51:59 +0000

In a simple press conference this morning at Club Filipino, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero formally withdrew from the Presidential derby in 2010. He also categorically stated that he won’t run as well for Vice-President. He’ll still be in government though as his senate term won’t end for another 3 years. This kinda saddens me a bit since I’m a supporter of Senator Chiz. I’ve met him on several occasions and he really gave me the impression that he has the right heart for service. The good thing though is that he’s still young and that he now has more time to prepare and build his name for 2016 and maybe even 2022. I’d like to share with everyone the full transcript of Senator Escudero’s speech which he gave this morning.

SEN. CHIZ ESCUDERO’S SPEECH

Magandang umaga sa inyong lahat, magsi-upo po tayo. Maikli lamang ito.

Simula noong umalis ako sa NPC noong ika-28 ng Oktubre, ginawa ko yun upang Malaya akong Makita at matanaw ang dapat kong gawin kaugnay ng 2010 elections. Ginawa ko ‘yun upang hindi nakapiring at hindi nakatali ang aking mga mata’t mga kamay para malaman kung ano ang dapat kong magawa sa ating sambayanan sa darating na panahon. Mula sa aking Malaya na pagkakatayo, tunay namang mas nakita ko ang dapat nating gawin bilang isang bansa at bilang isang lahi. Kabilang na ang pag-amin at pag-ako ng aniuman kakayanan o kawalan nito kaugnay sa mga mithiin, pangarap at layunin natin para sa ating bansa.

Nitong mga nagdaang araw, nagnilay-nilay ako, kumausap sa maraming malalapit na kaibigan at gayundin pamilya, kinausap ang ilan sa ating mga kababayan at pinagpasyahan ang aking papel na gagampanan sa darating na halalan. Akala ko magiging madaling desisyon pero hindi pala. Akala ko napakadali ang magiging pasya pero hindi pala. I’ve always said that for me, it’s the presidency but not at all cost. Not at the cost of losing my soul, not at the cost of losing myself, not at the cost by being eaten up by the system and the process and certainly not at the cost of not being able to do the things that I was and set out to do. Para sa akin panguluhan lamang ang aking nasa isip subalit hindi ko ito hahanapin at kukunin kung sa proseso ng pagkuha nito mawawala po ang aking sarili’t kaluluwa. Hindi ko rin kayang gawin ang dapat at gusto kong gawin at kung makakain lamang ako ng sistema. Para sa akin, hamon itong dapat tingnan ng lahat na ng unang nagdeklara, sila ba’y nakain na ng sistema o hindi pa, sa daan tungo sa panguluhan. Sila ba ay kaya pa ring gawin ang lahat ng pinangako sa atin na magaganda at matatamis habang nangangampanya. Hindi ko makokonsensyang sabihin ‘yan kung hindi ko rin lang kayang gawin kung ako ay pagtitiwalaan niyo. Dahil po sa lahat ng nabanggit ko, akala ko’y madali pero hindi. Napagpasyahan ko, na hindi tumakbo bilang pangulo sa darating na halalan. Napagpasyahan ko na hindi man bilang kandidato, ako’y may papel na pwedeng gampanan bilang Pilipino at ordinaryong botante sa panahong ito. Napagpasyahan ko na hindi lang ngayon ang panahon para matupad ang pinanghahawakan kong pangarap at layunin kong panguluhan nang hindi nakatali. Patuloy kang panghahawakan ang pangarap at pangakong iyan. Hindi man ngayon kundi sa darating na panahon.

Nais kong gamitin ang pagkakataong ito para magpasalamat sa lahat nang mga naniwala at nagtiwala; sa lahat ng gumalaw at kumilos maski na walang salapi o pera; sa lahat ng nagsalita at naniwala, sumigaw at nakiisa sa aking pangarap ng walang katumbas at kapalit. Kaninang umaga, bago ako umalis binisita ko yung dalawang anak ko na kambal at yun lang ang nagbigay sa akin ng lakas humarap sa inyo ngayon dahil maraming nagsasabing kung hindi ka rin lang naman tatakbo Chiz bakit kapa magpepress-con? Mag press release ka na lamang. Buong tapang at buo ang loob kong nais sabihin ito sa harap ninyo. Dahil hindi ko kinakahiya anumang salitang binigkas ko ngayon.

Kasabay ng inyong kalungkutan, marahil ganun din ang aking kalungkutan. Pero kasabay ng kalungkutang yan, ang pagnanais at pangarap at pangakong nais kong hawakan pa rin natin matapos nating lumisan ng silid na ito. Ang pangako ng isang bagong Pilipinas; ang pangako ng isang bagong pagbabago; ang pangako ng isang Pilipinas na hindi tulad ngayon, na kung hindi man natin makakamtan ngayon at sa pamamagitan ko san a magampanan ito nang mga nagpapakilala sa ating reresolba sa lahat ng ating problema. Kaisa ninyo ako at kaisa ako nang sinumang pagtitiwalaan ng sambayanan sa mga darating na araw. At bilang botante, bilang Pilipino, bilang senador patuloy akong mananalig sa kakayanan ng Pilipino at ng ating bansa na malampasan ang mga hamon at pagsubok na ito. Salamat po sa inyong pagtitiwala nitong mga nagdaang araw. At salamat din po sa inyong pagtitiwala sa akin sa aming grupo at sa aming lahat, sa adhikaing aming pinanghawakan. Makakaasa kayo na patuloy namin itong gagawin at gagampanan sa mga susunod pong araw. Sa muli po, taos pusong pagbati, salamat sa pagbisita at isa pong maganda at pinagpalang umaga.

2010 Presidential Polls: Villar-Aquino Showdown?

Carlo Ople — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:34:32 +0000

The highly anticipated PULSE ASIA Presidential Preference October Survey is out and the results aren’t really surprising. Leading the pack is Liberal Party standard bearer Noynoy Aquino with a dominating 44%. Following Aquino is Nacionalista Party’s Senator Manny Villar at 19%, then Senator Chiz Escudero with 13%, and former President Joseph Estrada at 11%. Administration candidate Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro only managed to rate 2% in the survey. These numbers are pretty much consistent with the recent SWS Survey which also put Noynoy on top followed by Villar. The big discrepancy here though is that in the SWS Survery, Villar had a much higher rating (37%).

The 2010 polls is shaping up to be an uphill battle for all the other candidates against Senator Noynoy Aquino. At this rate, it looks like the legendary “Ninoy” magic will propel another Aquino to the Presidency. You have got to wonder what Senator Villar’s camp is cooking up at this point. I don’t think they’ll just take this sitting down so they’ll probably mount a massive campaign effort in the coming weeks. They’ve already spent so much money pre-campaign period but it was all washed away by the free news coverage that Noynoy got after Cory’s death.

Another wild card here is Senator Chiz Escudero. If finally does decide to run, he might actually chip off the numbers of Noynoy. The youth and opposition vote is split between these two young guns and I’m pretty sure that Noynoy’s numbers will slide if Escudero finally declares his bid (if he ever does run).

Expect more congressmen and local officials to jump ship from the LAKAS-KAMPI coalition. It looks like Gibo has a tough road ahead of him and only a few people want to join him in his journey.

Another interesting thing here is that despite his declaration, Erap’s numbers didn’t show any improvement. It looks like the Filipino people aren’t willing to give him another crack at the Presidency.

The major game changers here are Erap and Chiz. If one decides to step down and endorse someone, whoever that person is will get a massive boost heading into the 2010 elections.

Special Blogger Event with Chiz Escudero

Carlo Ople — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:13:30 +0000

I helped organize a blogger event for Senator Chiz Escudero on November 7, 2009, at Annabelle’s Restaurant along Tomas Morato. There were a lot of bloggers who were eager to meet him especially since he just left his old party, the NPC. There were so many questions lingering and this event was a good venue to clear a lot of things out with Senator Chiz. We arrived at the venue around 11AM to help set up together with former NTC Commissioner Jorge Sarmiento (now part of Team Chiz). Eventually the bloggers started coming in. As usual, my favorite mom blogger, Noemi Dado, was the first to arrive. Jonas arrived shortly after and eventually we were able to pack the venue. Rochelle, who had previous commitments, even caught up. Unlike the first Chiz blogger event, we didn’t have to wait for hours before this one started. Shortly after we ate lunch, Chiz came in, sat down, quickly gobbled down his food, and the conversation began.

Chiz Leaving the NPC
Chiz gave a quite lengthy explanation as to why he bolted out of his party. From what I understood though, it was mostly because of policy differences. In his speech when he announced that he was resigning from the NPC, Chiz highlighted 3 major issues which he wanted to push for:

1. He is against contractual-status workers. This is prohibited by law and it should be enforced.
2. He is against Pork Barrel. It’s a source of corruption.
3. He is for land reform changes – give the farmers their land.

Obviously politicians and businessmen will be against these three items because they’re the ones benefiting from it. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the major backers of the NPC will be hit quite bad in the first and third points.

Anyway, after the initial explanation, Chiz was bombarded by questions left and right. I’ve already posted some clips of him about who he would endorse if he didn’t run as well as his Senatorial bets. An interesting discussion popped up when Chiz was engaged by one of his most vocal critics, Benj. They talked about secular government and how Chiz was recently misquoted on why he wanted students who were victims during Ondoy to be considered for an automatic passing grade. That’s for a separate post though.

I’m not sure if it was Dine or Jane, but someone also asked Chiz his stand on OFW’s. Chiz basically reiterated his earlier positions that he took during the Blas F. Ople Usapang OFW Leaders Forum. As one of the top countries exporting labor, the Philippines should be at the forefront of coming up with multi-lateral or bi-lateral agreements that will protect the welfare of our workers abroad. Paul Farol also asked very interesting questions, most of which I’ll discuss on separate posts.

The RH Bill
Chiz also talked about the highly controversial Reproductive Health Bill. He shares that he doesn’t think it won’t get approved anytime soon because PGMA is against it, and that the moment it’s passed in the Senate and Congress, PGMA will either just veto it or not assign any funds to the program. Personally he wants people to be informed on how they can plan their families. He’s also anti-abortion unless it’s needed to save the life of the mother.

There were so many other topics discussed that it will take me some time to short through my notes and the videos that I was able to take!

My Personal Take
Over-all, I think Chiz is a really good guy. He has the right heart for service, and maybe that’s also his weakness. He can’t stand how politics is being done now to the point that he might not be able to win battles that need fighting because the weapons needed are covered in blood. I genuinely respect and admire him for his passion for what is right, and in the event that he still decides to run, I still believe that he actually has a chance. If he finds a way to convince and let the people know who he really is, then maybe he can make it. He definitely has a very tough battle ahead of him but nothing is impossible.

Thanks to all the bloggers who attended. If you’ve written a post on the event, please leave a comment here or drop me an e-mail so that I can link to you.

Chiz Escudero might just endorse Noynoy Aquino

Carlo Ople — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:58:25 +0000

During the first blogger event that I attended with Senator Chiz Escudero, we asked him who he would want to be President (other than him). His answer then was Senator Noynoy Aquino. Fast forward a couple of months later, I’m in another blogger event with Chiz again. This time though a lot of changes have happened. Noynoy is now actually running for President and Chiz just resigned from the NPC. I thought it would be interesting to see if what he said that would still apply. So I asked him again – if he were to not pursue his 2010 Presidential bid, would he support Noynoy Aquino? I’ve uploaded a video of him answering the question and you’ll find the answer VERY INTERESTING.

His answer?

“Headed in that directon.”

BOOM.

If this happens, all the other Presidential candidates, Villar and Estrada included, can kiss their 2010 ambitions goodbye. The remaining youth and opposition vote that Chiz has would rally around Noynoy, probably cementing his victory in 2010 unless he does something unbelievably stupid before May.

However, like what he said, nothing yet is set in stone. Chiz might go on and still make a run for the Presidency despite being independent. If there’s one thing that’s sure with Philippine politics…. it’s that nothing is really for sure, haha

Senator Escudero’s Senate Line-up

Carlo Ople — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:25:09 +0000

In a blogger session with Senator Chiz Escudero, he shared with us his planned original endorsed line-up for the Senate with his former party, the NPC. He still supports these candidates even though he’s left the party already. One of the names that came up was my auntie’s, Susan “Toots” Ople. Others that he mentioned were Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, Cong. TG Guingona, Bongbong Plaza, and General Danny Lim.

Here’s the video. Sorry for the poor quality, I took this with my BlackBerry phone camera and I forgot to take out the plastic case which kinda covered the audio receptors, haha.

I’ll be posting more about the various discussions that happened in the event in the coming days. He even mentioned who he would endorse if he decided not to pursue his bid for the Presidency.

Chiz leaving the NPC is a good thing

Carlo Ople — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:55:41 +0000

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero announced this morning that he was resigning from the NPC. Initially I was shocked and I actually thought to myself “Is this guy insane?” I was wondering why he left the party seeing as that would be the foundation of his machinery and funding. However, after talking to some friends and reading entries of other bloggers, I realized that his decision to leave the NPC was actually a good thing and that it can pave the way for him to actually win the Presidency in 2010.

I can think of dozens of reasons why this is good but I can summarize it in two main points:

1. It makes him relevant.
Chiz was rating high before Noynoy entered the picture. This made his image and brand kinda stale (marketing-wise). The opposition and youth vote which he commanded was now split between him and Noynoy. If he ran under NPC without telling a new “brand story” it would really be boring and it won’t make a big difference. Chiz is now back in the news. He has a fresh image, a new story, and a more compelling proposition. Amongst all the other candidates, he’s now DIFFERENT.

In marketing, you call this move “repositioning” and it’s just hitting me now how brilliant (in concept and theory) this thing is for Chiz. The question now is will the people see the value of his move and vote for him come 2010?

2. He can be the moral third force.
By leaving the NPC, Chiz is now the only candidate that is actually beholden to NO ONE. The shadow of Danding is no longer there. To quote Patricio, Chiz is a free man. If he wins the elections, there will be no bartered cabinet positions. There will be no pre-presidency agreements or deals that he has to honor. Chiz can do whatever the hell he wants and he will only be accountable to himself, to the people, and to God.

My respect and admiration for Senator Chiz just increased exponentially because of what he did this morning. I wish him all the best.

Chiz Escudero Resigns from NPC

Carlo Ople — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:02:14 +0000

Senator Chiz Esucdero just resigned from his political party, NPC, this morning at Club Filipino. This came as a huge shocker since a lot of people were actually expecting him to announce his bid for the Presidency today. In fact, the original event was scheduled this evening at UP but was suddenly changed yesterday to Club Filipino.

So many thoughts about this but I have work, haha! Will write in a while during my lunch break.

Vice Presidential Derby Heats Up

Carlo Ople — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:25:22 +0000

Today was a milestone moment in Philippine politics with regards to the upcoming 2010 elections. First, DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno released a statement saying that he’s withdrawing from the VP run in 2010. Shortly after that, Senator Loren Legarda announced her bid for VP in Luneta under NPC which is reportedly fielding Senator Chiz Escudero for the Presidency. It looks like we will be having a Chiz-Loren tandem for the NPC in 2010. They’ll be facing off with Aquino-Roxas (LP), Teodoro-??? (Admin), and Villar-??? (Nacionalista).

Other than announcing her candidacy, she also shared her platform of government. Below are her major initiatives should she get elected:

• Gear public resources towards providing social services that all Filipinos can afford.
• Ensure the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
• Crack down on corruption.
• Protect the environment and address the problems relating to climate change.
• Forge genuine peace, especially in Mindanao, by addressing the root causes of the conflict and seeking dialogue with armed groups.
• Rejuvenate Filipino culture.

Puno’s withdrawal from the race and Loren’s VP NPC declaration makes you wonder who the admin and Villar will get as their running mates. Here’s my guess:

For the admin, it will be Teodoro and Vilma Santos. For Nacionalista, it will be Manny Villar and Noli De Castro.

Chiz Escudero and October 10, 2009

Carlo Ople — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:46:19 +0000

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero has been repeatedly been quoted saying that he’ll announce his political plans during or shortly after his 40th birthday. That day is just around the corner as Chiz will be celebrating his 40th year this coming October 10, 2009. A lot of people are assuming that the young Senator will be gunning for the Presidency given his strong performance in surveys. He’s also been aggressively campaigning on the ground and on the provincial radios.

Other than his on-ground efforts, Chiz has also been quite creative with his non-traditional campaigns. He’s one of the first candidates I’ve seen make the use of online viral videos. His “Bagong Sigla” online campaign has two episodes: Apokalipto and Salot. Both of these videos are very entertaining to watch, especially if you’re young and you’re a fan of anime. I’ve embedded both videos here for your viewing pleasure.

Bagong Sigla Apokalipto

Bagong Sigla Salot

Chiz has also revamped his campaign website, Chiz Nation. It now has the same theme as his videos and it looks like his message for 2010 will really be “Bagong Sigla”. Kinda similar to US President Barrack Obama’s “Change” campaign.

On a more personal note, I’ve had the chance to meet Chiz on several occasions. The most memorable ones though were (click the links to read):

Blogger Coffee Session with Senator Chiz Escudero
Senator Chiz Escudero’s “Saging lang ang may puso” during the Ople OFW Forum

Will Chiz announce something in the next few days? We all have to wait and see.

2010 Presidentiables – Box Office Hits?

Carlo Ople — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:39:09 +0000

This album was posted on Facebook by Gerald Magno. It basically has several movie posters but instead of the Hollywood stars an artist edited in and put in the pictures of the candidates in 2010. Really interesting and funny stuff! Hopefully these pictures will put a smile on your face. We definitely need light moments now more than ever.

Here’s my personal favorite. First poster shows Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas in the Martin-Gary poster. Second is the Twilight poster but it now has Chiz and Loren.

Next up we have former President Estrada being “dragged back to jail” by Senator Lacson:

But wait, there’s more! Here’s Vice President Noli De Castro:

And last, but not least, we have the administration slate.

O diba, panalo? Hahaha! I personally loved the Twilight poster the best. How about you guys?