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Educator, legislator, banker, corporate lawyer, art patron and weekend
farmer, former Executive Secretary
and Agriculture Secretary Edgardo J.
Angara is indeed a man of many facets and pursuits. In all of these
preoccupations,
Angara has stood out and made his mark. Born to
middle-class
parents in Baler,Aurora, Angara scaled up the ladder
of corporate law,
the
academe and politics to emerge as one of the country’s top public
leaders
and
intellectuals. A product of the University of the Philippines
(Bachelor
of Laws, 1958), and the University of Michigan
(Master of Laws, 1964),
he
founded in the early seventies what eventually became one of the
country’s
most
prestigious law firms -- the Angara, Concepcion, Cruz, Regala,
Abello
(ACCRA) Law Offices. He gained prominence duting
his stint as President
of
the University of the Philippines from 1981 to 1987. During the
turbulent
years
of his stewardship at UP, he defended not only the State
University’s
tradition of dissent but also significantly
improved its financial and
human
resources. Under his term, UP established stronger links with the
business
community and alumni organizations, both locally and abroad. His
achievements as UP President and active involvement
in the citizens
watchdog
group NAMFREL during the 1986 “snap elections” pushed him to national
prominence
and mainstream politics. He placed 5th in the senatorial
elections and from 1993 to 1995, he served as Senate President.
During
Angara’s term as Senate President, the chamber was an activist,
reformist
institution. He pushed
hard for the passage of over 100 laws that
turned
around the economy and laid down the environment for economic dynamism
and
growth. A new Philippine Central Bank was created, the banking system
was
liberalized, and infrastructure
build-up boosted the economy with the
massive entry of foreign investments. Also during his term as Senate
President,
Angara’s reformist bent was the sheer force that cut through
the
legislative gridlock to pass landmark legislation.
As a legislator, he
was
identified with landmark laws in education, health, the arts, culture
and
agriculture.
He had a special concern for the underclass. He was the
principal author of the law granting free high education
to all
Filipinos.
He authored the Magna Carta for Public Health Workers. He also headed
the
congressional
commission that turned out a landmark, comprehensive
report on
Philippine education. The report was the basis
for the restructuring
of the
education department and the on-going major reforms in the educational
system. Two
laws sponsored by Angara created the Commission on Higher
Education and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
and
this
enabled the education department to focus on its main concern - basic
education. For those in the margin,
Angara authored the Senior Citizens
Act
and the Breast Feeding Act. He authored the landmark Generics Drug Act
and
the law that provided a National Insurance Program for Filipinos
(PhilHealth). A committed patron of the arts,
he was the principal
sponsor
of a law that created the new National Museum. A law he sponsored
created
the
National Commission on Culture and the Arts. The law on National
Living
Treasures bestows and promoting the
cause of agriculture and fisheries.
Frontier research work in agriculture research and development had been
another
hallmark of Angara’s leadership at the DA. The great strides
recently achieved by the sector had been largely
attributed to his
leadership. Angara also became a solid voice in the fight for fair
trading
rules in global trade.
He coined the phrase “fair trade in a free
trade
context” to dramatize the resolve of the developing countries
to end
the
protectionist and unfair trade policies of developed countries. His
bargaining with Australia
over the entry of world-class fruits to that
country’s market had been widely hailed in the country’s farming
and
trade
circles. From a negative 6.6 percent performance in 1998, the
agriculture
sector had registered
solid growths during the one year and a half
Angara
was secretary. The growth rate for the year 2000 was 3 percent.
Palay
production, according to field reports, was expected at 12.5 million
metric
tons, a historic record.
The drive to gain self-sufficiency in rice,
an
elusive goal, is about to become a reality, thanks to the production
programs and support services initiated under his stewardship of the
agriculture department. In 1999, the sector posted
a growth rate of 6.7
percent. The sector is expected to register a decent growth rate for
the
current year. Having
taken this oath on January 6, 2001 as the
Executive
Secretary of the thirteenth president of the Philippines, Angara
served
for
thirteen days only with the thirteenth day lasting two days long. He
was
one of the few committed
Cabinet members who stayed on until the very
last
day of President Estrada who was ousted in People Power 2.
The
peaceful
transition of the presidency from Estrada to Arroyo would not have been
possible were it not for
Angara and his unwavering commitment to serve
his
country until the very end. Before joining the Estrada cabinet on
May
25,
1999, he served as Chairman of the Philippine National Bank. He is
married
to Gloria Manalang, who
was former chair of the Cultural Center of the
Philippines. They have four children.
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