Senator Francis โChizโ Escudero and several Sorsogon provincial officials are facing fresh graft and criminal complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman, accused of orchestrating what a private lawyer calls โsystematic corruptionโ totaling โฑ352 million during Escuderoโs term as governor. The complaint, filed by Atty. Eldrige Marvin Aceron, cites multiple COA-flagged irregularities from the 2021 audit โ including overlapping contracts, falsified documents, and millions in unimplemented typhoon funds.
Aceron claimed that the alleged anomalies went beyond clerical errors โ โdeliberate acts that robbed the children of Sorsogon of their future.โ Among the flagged items: โฑ125.7 million in โphysically impossibleโ infrastructure projects using the same contractors and equipment, โฑ10 million in typhoon relief funds left idle, and โฑ195 million in โghostโ government assets that remained on the books despite demolition.
Also named in the complaint are members of the Bids and Awards Committee, the acting provincial accountant, and other finance officers. Aceron said the pattern of questionable spending continued in subsequent COA reports for 2022 and 2023, citing โqualified opinionsโ that hint at ongoing misuse.
As of press time, Escudero has yet to issue a statement. But with ethics and graft cases now trailing him into the Senate, one thingโs clear โ the heat in Sorsogonโs books is burning all the way to Manila.
Image from Chiz Escudero FB