FACT CHECK: Chiz Escudero Has Not Endorsed A Presidential Candidate Yet

Claim: An art card circulating on social media attributed a quote to senatorial candidate and Sorsogon Gov. Francis Escudero, who supposedly endorsed the candidacies of Vice President Leni Robredo for president and her running mate, Sen. Francis Pangilinan.

Rating: False

Facts:

Escudero has yet to endorse any presidential bet, contrary to claims that he has formally expressed his support for Robredo and Pangilinan.

Escudero’s office disowned circulating posts attributing a remark to the governor that read: “Ang limang million na bumuto sa akin last 2016 sa pagka Vice President ay alam kong iboboto si VP Leni ngayon. Inaasahan ko na ang lahat ng sumuporta sa akin ay susuportahan si VP Leni at Kiko. Siya ang susunod na Pangulo! Ang bayan ng Sorsogon ay para kay Leni! (I am sure that the five million who voted for me in 2016 for Vice President will vote for VP Leni now. I expect those who supported me to support VP Leni and Kiko. She will be the next President! The province of Sorsogon is for Leni!”

Sought for confirmation, a staff at the governor’s office told The Philippine STAR / OneNews.PH that Escudero did not utter the remark.

The governor, the staff said, only mentioned the Vice President in public during the campaign rally in Sorsogon City on Feb. 9.

“It is my pleasure to introduce to all of you… She is hardworking and you have tested her capability and know what she can accomplish, not just in Sorsogon, not just in Bicol, but in the entire country,” the governor said in Bicolano while introducing Robredo.

“Her honesty is beyond compare. The only woman candidate for president. A daughter of Bicol, a daughter of Sorsogon, particularly Bulan,” he added before he was cut off due to the arrival of Pangilinan.

No categorical endorsement was made by the governor, who is a guest candidate of Robredo and presidential bets Senators Manny Pacquiao and Panfilo Lacson.

His bid for a Senate comeback is also being supported by vice presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, although he is not an official candidate of the UniTeam ticket led by his former Senate colleague Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Escudero has yet to join sorties of other presidential candidates, although he appeared as a guest in the online program of Duterte-Carpio on Feb. 7.

He also attended an event organized by Lakas-CMD to drumbeat support to the Davao City mayor at the provincial gymnasium on Feb. 5.

In a separate statement, Escudero assured that all 2022 candidates can freely campaign in his province.

Why it matters:

The Twitter post containing the fake quote card attributed to Escudero has received over 5,300 likes and 700 retweets. While the user already apologized for failing to verify its content before sharing, the post is still available as of writing. The same quote card, as well as text versions of the fake quote have also been shared on Facebook.

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