“Sonny Angara fits the Education chief to a tee.”
Publicist and businessman Dante Vino made this observation on Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Manalang Angara’s appointment as the Department of Education (DepEd) secretary.
The senator succeeds Vice President Sara Duterte who described herself as “designated survivor” after giving up the Education portfolio.
Angara’s background, both as a legislator and educator, is impeccable.
His mother, Gloria Manalang Angara, was a former teacher and later chairperson of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, while his father served as Senate president and president of the state-run University of the Philippines (UP).
Sonny is unquestionably the torch bearer of his father’s legacies, both as a lawyer and lawmaker.
Born on July 15, 1972 in Manila, Sonny initially studied at the Xavier School in San Juan City, Metro Manila, then went to Douai School in England and completed his Bachelor’s degree in International Relations at the London School of Economics.
He eventually finished his law studies at the UP, and earned his Master of Laws degree from the Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
A throwback to his track records would show that like his parents, Sonny “values education as a tool to fight poverty and ensure social mobility.”
He spearheaded bills that sought greater access to education and scholarships for poor and deserving students, such as the Ladderized Education Act, the Open Learning and Distance Education Act, Youth Entrepreneurship Act, the Unified Student Financial Assistance System Act, the law to include Filipino-Muslim history in the school curriculum and a law requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training before graduation.
For his achievements, Angara was recognized as one of the country’s Ten Outstanding Young Men for government service and legislation in 2010.
Angara’s professional career took off in 1991 as a trainee at the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. in Makati City. Three years later, he served as an apprentice-member of the Philippine mission to the United Nations in New York.
He then worked as an associate lawyer at the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala and Cruz (ACCRA) law firm from 2001 to 2003.
Sonny practices what he teaches—he is a practicing lawyer and a law professor at the New Era University and Centro Escolar University.
The year 2004 saw him winning a congressional seat for the lone district of his home province of Aurora. Being just 31 at the time, he was one of the Benjamins of the 13th Congress, but held the post for three consecutive terms ending in 2013.
As a legislator, Sonny authored several laws without losing sight of the welfare of his constituencies. He also supported the construction of more than 100 classrooms in Aurora, funding the needs of poor patients in at least 12 public hospitals and offered scholarships to deserving students in state universities and colleges.
As a three-term congressman, Angara authored more than 20 bills which were eventually enacted into laws.
Among them were the Anti-Bullying Act, the Philippine National Health Research System Act, the Magna Carta of Women, the Tax Exemption for Minimum Wage Earners Act, the Kindergarten Education Act and the Domestic Workers Act.
Angara was elected to the Senate in 2013 and was re-elected in 2019. In the 19th Congress, Senator Angara was even busier, having filed some 20 measures.
On March 26, 2020, Angara tested positive for COVID-19. He was reportedly one of the first four high-ranking government officials to have been infected by the virus, along with his Senate colleagues Juan Miguel Zubiri and Aquilino Pimentel III.
Basketball has a special place in Sonny’s heart. He is a big fan of the NBA team Boston Celtics. At the home front, he is chairman of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, recognized as the governing body for Philippine basketball.
Angara credits his wife Elvira “Tootsy” and children Manolo, 18, Nessie, 16 and Javier, 11 for his achievements.
Sonny is set to take his oath as Education secretary on July 19, 2024.
