Press Release
April 18, 2016

CHIZ: 'I'M BEHOLDEN TO THE FILIPINO PEOPLE, NOT TO ANYONE'

Independent vice-presidential contender Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero said his friendship with perceived big business has not influenced him in dispensing his duties since he became a public servant, and maintained that he is not beholden to anyone except to the Filipino people.

To prove this, Escudero cited the case of detained former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, one of his wedding sponsors, whose impeachment from office he had sought when he was minority leader of the House of Representatives.

"Ninang ko sa kasal noon si GMA. In-impeach ko sya nang tatlong beses dahil 'yun ang panawagan ng pagkakataon at ebidensya. Ang ilang mga ninong ko rin, nagawan ko na rin ng desisyon at pasya kung saan iisa ang batayang sinunod ko: ang tama ay tama, ang mali ay mali," Escudero said in response to a question during the "Harapan ng Bise: The Vice-Presidential Debate" on ABS-CBN.

"At kailanman, hindi ko po papayagan na ito ay mamagitan sa pagitan ko at ng aking trabaho at sinumpaang tungkulin sa atin pong mga kababayan anumang puwesto ang aking pinanghahawakan," the veteran lawmaker added.

Arroyo stood as one of the primary sponsors in Escudero's wedding with his first wife. But their relationship turned sour when Escudero stood as campaign spokesperson for Arroyo's bitter rival in the 2004 presidential race, the late actor Fernando Poe Jr.

Poe eventually lost to Arroyo in a highly contested electoral exercise.

When evidence of electoral fraud surfaced, Escudero and opposition lawmakers moved to impeach Arroyo, but were outnumbered by her allies in Congress.

As minority leader at the House of Representatives, Escudero also led the succeeding attempts to impeach Arroyo. This explains why he did not receive a single centavo of the Priority Development Assistance (PDAF) allocation from the national government during the nine years that Arroyo was in power.

Escudero said he is hurt every time people point out that his principal sponsors in wedding with actress Heart Evangelista are mostly businessmen, as if they influence him in his personal and political decisions.

"Alam niyo, nakakalungkot na palaging nababanggit 'yan. Porke't ba bata ako at hindi mayaman, kailangan na lamang palagi na may mayamang negosyante sa likod ko? Simple ang pamumuhay ko at hindi ko sila kailangan para mabuhay nang marangal," he explained.

Meanwhile, Escudero said he won't hesitate to support any move to impeach a sitting president if there is strong indication that a wrongdoing has been committed.

"Minsan ko nang nagawa at pinatunayan 'yan. Noong may nakita kaming paglabag sa Saligang Batas kaugnay ng katiwalian, pandaraya sa halalan at kasinungalingan ng nagdaang pangulo. Tiniyak namin at sinubukan namin syang i-impeach," Escudero said in reference to Arroyo.

He added: "Hindi nga lang namin nakuha noon ang kinakailangang boto para mapanagot sana sya ng Senado. Kaya ang ginawa po namin sumama kami sa pakikipaglaban sa lansangan para sana mapasagot man lang sya, mapaliwanag at bigyan ng pagkakataon na depensahan ang kanyang sarili.

"Subalit maski na 'yon hindi po nya binigay sa amin. Bilang ikalawang pangulo, bilang inyong ikalawang pangulo, layunin ko palagi ay iisa lamang: ipaglaban ang tama at labanan ang mali."

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