ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Criminal, admin charges on P352-M 'irregular' projects filed vs Sen 'Chiz' Escudero as ex-Sorsogon governor

Criminal, admin charges on P352-M 'irregular' projects filed vs Sen 'Chiz' Escudero as ex-Sorsogon governor

Published Nov 14, 2025 01:29 pm
Criminal and administrative charges were filed before the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) on Friday, Nov. 14, against Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero on the P352 million worth of “irregular” projects when he was governor of Sorsogon in 2021.
Aside from Escudero, also named in the complaint filed by lawyer Marvin Aceron were Acting Provincial Accountant Rena M. Garcia, Provincial General Services Officer Rosalina V. Hainto, and the unnamed members of the bids and awards committee (BAC) and the provincial treasurer.
Aceron charged them with violations of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; Article 220 of the Revised Penal Code on technical malversation; Article 171 of the RPC on falsification of public documents; and Article 213 of the RPC on frauds against the public treasury.
He also recommended that administrative charges be filed against them for gross neglect of duty, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and dishonesty.
He told the OMB there were P125,704,889.93 worth of infrastructure contracts awarded to the same contractors with the same personnel and equipment, which he said was "physically impossible" as this would require "simultaneous deployment of personnel and equipment."
He also questioned the misappropriation of P15,474,262.65 national government funds, including P10,000,000 in typhoon relief that remained unimplemented for six years.
Aceron highlighted the falsification of procurement documents for P8,440,701.12 in janitorial and laundry contracts, as these were supported by conflicting notarizations and fabricated client references.
He also claimed that the release of P1,655,400 for the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) TUPAD was questionable as this was reportedly marred by defective signatures, missing authorizations and improper implementation.
At the same time, Aceron said there were P5,654,955.90 worth of development projects that were improperly charged to the 20 percent Development Fund, and P195,748,853.86 in unreliable Property, Plant, and Equipment accounts including “ghost assets and demolished structures carried in the books.”
He alleged: "These are not mere accounting errors. These are deliberate acts that robbed the children of Sorsogon of their future. While families struggled through the pandemic, public funds were diverted, mishandled, or left to rot in government accounts.”
He submitted the Commission on Audit (COA) reports from 2022 and 2023 to back up his complaint, which he said showed "glaring irregularities" that had been "hiding in plain sight."
He also said: "The Complainant does not file this case for political vendetta or personal gain. This Complaint is filed because silence is complicity. This is filed because the children of Sorsogon - and all Filipino children - deserve better than a government that steals their future. Sorsogon should not be made poorer by the very people who swore to serve them.”
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.