Signs of Chiz?

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero resigned Tuesday as chair of the Senate Committee on Finance and as co-chair of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Public Expenditures.

Submitting his irrevocable resignation to Senate President Franklin Drilon, Escudero said he did so out of “delicadeza” with his looming run for a higher office in the 2016 elections.

Escudero is being seen as a potential running mate of Senator Grace Poe, a leading contender for next year’s presidential election as an independent.

“I believe that it behooves me to step down at this juncture to ensure that deliberations on the General Appropriations Bill  are untainted by suspicions or perceptions of partisan politics,” said Escudero.

“It is, Mr. President, what propriety requires; it is, I believe, what our people expect from us all -- delicadeza,” he added.

Pundits are however, saying, that Escudero may be distancing himself from the administration, seen to field Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, against Poe and Vice President Jejomar Binay.

“He wants a way out because next year’s budget is criticized by former Sen. Panfilo Lacson and Sen. Serge Osmeña as being full of the ‘pork’ already declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court,” said an observer. –End-

Image by: Philippine Daily Inquirer