Francis Joseph "Chiz" Guevara Escudero (Tagalog pronunciation: [ɛskʊˈdero], born October 10, 1969) is a Filipino politician and lawyer who has served as a senator of the Philippines since 2022 and previously from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Nationalist People's Coalition, he served as the 31st president of the Senate of the Philippines from 2024 to 2025. He unsuccessfully ran for vice president of the Philippines in the 2016 elections as the running mate of Grace Poe.
Born to a political family based in Sorsogon, Escudero was educated at the University of the Philippines. He entered politics in 1998 after being elected as the representative for Sorsogon's first district, a seat he would hold until 2007. During his tenure, he served as the spokesperson for the unsuccessful 2004 presidential campaign of Fernando Poe Jr. In the aftermath of the ensuing Hello Garci scandal, he supported the efforts to impeach President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Escudero was elected to the Senate in the 2007 election. As a senator, he was cited as a possible presidential candidate in the 2010 election. After declining a run for higher office, he endorsed the split-ticket "NoyBi" tandem, which would win the election. In 2016, he ran for vice president and lost to Leni Robredo. He was reelected to the Senate in the 2013 election, leaving office in 2019. He then served as the 23rd governor of Sorsogon from 2019 to 2022.
Escudero returned to the upper chamber after being elected in the 2022 election. In 2024, he was elected to the Senate presidency after a successful effort to oust his predecessor Juan Miguel Zubiri from the office. His leadership of the Senate was marked by his handling of the impeachment of Sara Duterte, which received a mixed reception. In September 2025, he was ousted as president of the Senate of the Philippines, and replaced by Senator Tito Sotto, amid corruption allegations surrounding government flood control projects.
Escudero denied Bernardo's allegations, calling them "malicious allegations and innuendos" and saying that Bernardo had admitted he had no direct contact with him regarding the alleged transactions.
In April 2026, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said that his office was preparing possible plunder charges against Escudero and former House speaker Martin Romualdez in connection with the flood control scandal. Escudero and Romualdez denied involvement in anomalous flood control projects. In May 2026, Senator Panfilo Lacson sought a preliminary investigation of Escudero, Romualdez and other officials in relation to the flood control probe.
Francis Joseph Guevara Escudero was born on October 10, 1969, in Manila, the second of three children of Salvador "Sonny" Escudero III and Evelina B. Guevara-Escudero. Salvador was the director of University of the Philippines Veterinary Hospital at the time of Francis's birth and would later serve as Minister of Agriculture and Food during the Marcos era, and representative of Sorsogon's first district twice. Evelina also served as representative of the district. His younger sister Dette has been the representative of the same district since 2022. Escudero's grandfather, Salvador Escudero Jr., was mayor of Casiguran, Sorsogon, and a member of the Sorsogon Provincial Board. Escudero's grand-grandfather, Salvador "Gurang" Escudero Sr., a Spanish Mestizo, entered politics in 1912 as councilor of Casiguran and went on to become mayor, provincial board member, and governor of Sorsogon. When the Japanese occupation broke out in 1942, he led one of the three guerilla units of the province.
Escudero was educated at the University of the Philippines (UP). He attended the University of the Philippines Integrated School for elementary (1981) and high school (1985). He then earned his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of the Philippines Diliman (1989) and Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines College of Law (1993).
At UP, Escudero joined the Alpha Phi Beta fraternity and was a member of its debating team, which was the 1991 UP Open Debate Champion. A consistent honor student, Escudero was a member of the Order of the Purple Feather or the UP 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).
Escudero's involvement in politics started in the 1980s as an organizer for the local campaign of his father. He first expressed interest in running for public office as municipal councilor of Sorsogon when he was 22. At 25, he again indicated his intention to run, this time as mayor of the municipality. However, on both occasions, his family forbade him from entering politics and insisted that he finish his law studies before embarking on a political career.
Before becoming a lawyer, Escudero was a teaching assistant at the UP Department of Political Science (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 University of the Philippines College of Law (1996-1998). He also taught at the graduate school of the Ateneo de Manila University in 2000.
On July 3, 2000, Escudero was named a Commander of the Philippine Navy Reserve Command.
While serving as a lawmaker, Escudero also dabbled in media. From May to August 2000, he hosted "Ngayon na Pinoy", a TV program on RPN. He also anchored the radio programs "Magandang Umaga Bayan" on the Angel Radio, DZAR 1026 AM; and "Usapang de Campanilla" and "Usapang Legal", both on DZMM.
Escudero also penned a column, "Usapang Legal ni Chiz Escudero" (later renamed "Say Chiz") in two tabloids: Abante and Abante Tonite.
House of Representatives (1998–2007)