In recent news about the development of the state of the Reproductive Health Bill in the country, twenty Philippine senators signed an approval of the said bill. This signing of an approval means a great development for the RH Bill for it means that the bill is actually going somewhere and not neglected totally. In a previous blog entry, I listed down the name of the Senators who signed the said approval. In the next few blog entries, I will be discussing the profiles of these Senators and probably state why they signed the approval. For today, we will be looking at Senator Ed Angara.
Edgardo Javier Angara was born on September 24, 1934 in Baler, Aurora. From 1993 to 1995, he served as the President of the Senate of the Philippines. He is currently serving his fourth term as a senator. He graduated from the University of the Philippines in 1958, where he earned his Bachelor of Laws degree. He was part of the Sigma Rho Fraternity while attending the said university. He then attended the University of Michigan’s School of Law in the United States of American and earned his Masters of Law degree in 1964.
IN 1972, he, together with UP College of Law, and now fellow senator, Juan Ponce Enrile, established what would now become one of the country’s most recognized and prestigious law firm, the Angara, Abello, Concepcion, Regala and Cruz (ACCRA) Law Offices. He also became the President of the University of the Philippines from 1981 to 1987. While in office, he established programs that will help UP students and alumni and put the said university on the map.
It was Ed Angara’s achievements that gave him a seat on the Senate of the Philippines. As the Senate Presidents from 1993 to 1995, he was able to pass laws on arts and culture, agriculture, education, good governance, health, and social welfare, that definitely helped a lot of Filipinos. In 1998, he ran alongside presidential candidate Joseph Estrada as his vice president. Althought Joseph Estrada won in a landslide, Ed Angara unfortunately lost to the vice presidential candidate Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Even though he lost, newly elected president Joseph Estrada appointed him as the Agriculuture Secretary and served from 1999 to 2001. With his leadership, the Agriculture Department grew and became a better department than before. He was also appointed the Executive Secretary but only served for less than two weeks because Joseph Estrada was impeached.
In 2001, Ed Angara ran again for a seat in the senate and he successfully won. He was again elected in 2007, serving his fourth term. Because of this, he is now the longest-serving senator of the post-EDSA government. In all his terms, Ed Angara penned and successfully passed laws that benefits many Filipinos from different sectors. He currently is the chairman of the Committee on Education, Arts, and Culture; the Committee on Science and Technology; and the Congressional Committee on Science and Technology and Engineering (COMSTE).
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