Happy birthday, Sen. Chiz!
It's Senator Francis Joseph Guevara "Chiz" Escudero's birthday today! (Betcha didn't know that was his full name, eh?) I just greeted him via text message a few minutes ago. I bet he'll have a great, grand birthday today.
I remember the very first time I interviewed him was via text message as well. He was Sorsogon's representative then and was closely associated with former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada. Later on, he served as the late Fernando Poe, Jr.'s spokesperson during the latter's presidential campaign trail. It was a time when I felt that the local newspapers barely had access to the opposition. Most, if not all, of the stories that I read back then were anchored on the side of the administration. There were hardly any comments from the opposition. It was a time when the phra...