Sonny Angara

Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Manalang Angara (; born July 15, 1972) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who has served as the 37th secretary of education since 2024. He has concurrently served as chairman of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas since 2016 and as the president of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino since 2018.

A graduate of the London School of Economics and the University of the Philippines College of Law, Angara entered politics in 2004 after being elected as the representative of Aurora's at-large district, a seat he would hold until 2013. During his tenure, he supported the impeachment of Renato Corona and acted deputy spokesperson of the House prosecution panel. Angara was elected to the Senate of the Philippines in 2013 and served until 2024 before resigning to become the secretary of education.

Early life and education

Angara was born on July 15, 1972, in Manila to lawyer and former Senate President Edgardo Angara and Gloria Manalang-Angara, a teacher who would become chairperson of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. He took up his basic education at Xavier School in San Juan, Metro Manila, then attended Douai School in the UK, and finished his Bachelor of Science degree in International Relations with honors from the London School of Economics. He finished his law degree at the University of the Philippines College of Law, and earned his Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Early career

Angara worked as a trainee at the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (Metrobank) in Makati in 1991. He worked as a news reporter for ''The Philippine Star'' in 1992. He served as an apprentice and member of the delegation in the Philippine Mission to the United Nations in New York in 1994. He worked as an associate attorney at the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala and Cruz (ACCRA) law firm from 2001 to 2003. He taught as a professor at the New Era University (NEU) College of Law and at the Centro Escolar University (CEU) School of Law and Jurisprudence.

House of Representatives (2004–2013)

Angara was first elected to public office in 2004 as the representative to Congress for the lone district of Aurora, where he succeeded his aunt, Bellaflor J. Angara-Castillo, a three-term representative and erstwhile governor of Aurora. He was elected to a second term as congressman in 2007, when he ran unopposed under the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), the same political party as in 2004. Angara was elected to a third term as congressman for Aurora in 2010.

Tenure

First term (2004–2007)

Elected at age 31, he was one of the youngest members of the 13th Congress. He was a member of the House minority and served as House deputy minority leader, thereby becoming an ''ex officio'' member of all standing and special committees of the 13th Congress. He authored a number of laws of national significance and was able to focus on work in his constituency, where he used the funds allotted to his office to build over 100 classrooms and provided funds for indigent constituents in 12 government hospitals and hundreds of scholarships to deserving students at various state universities and colleges (SUCs). He also worked together with socio-civic groups on various projects and funded the creation of the Gawad Kalinga villages for the homeless in three of Aurora's municipalities and the provision of computers and Internet access to Aurora's public high schools, together with the GILAS Foundation, and access to vocational, skills, and livelihood training through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and other groups.

Second term (2007–2010)

He served as deputy majority leader and vice chairman of the committee on rules, also as an ''ex officio'' member of all standing and special committees in the House during the 14th Congress (2007–2010). as the representative of Aurora's at-large district He was one of the remaining congressmen who offered aid to some of the wounded persons and personally took some of the survivors to the nearby Far Eastern University - Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation in Quezon City for treatment when a bomb was planted at the premises of the House of Representatives in 2008 which resulted in the death of Representative Wahab Akbar and the death and serious wounding of other congressmen and congressional staffers. He topped the list of "prolific and hardworking members of the House of Representatives" for filing the most number of bills of national importance that were enacted into law in the 14th Congress.

A report by the House Indexing and Monitoring Group of the Bills and Index Department showed that in the 14th Congress of 2007–2010, he, then deputy majority floor leader, filed 10 national bills that eventually became laws of the land.

Third term (2010–2013)

He was a signatory to the impeachment complaint against then-Chief Justice Renato Corona, which was signed by the 188 members of the Philippine House of Representatives in December 2011, was eventually adopted as the Articles of Impeachment, and was passed for consideration of the Senate impeachment court. He acted as deputy spokesperson of the House prosecution panel, together with Marikina Representative Miro Quimbo and Quezon Representative Lorenzo Tañada III, in the impeachment trial of the Chief Magistrate.

Senate (2013–2024)

Elections

Angara was elected to the Senate in 2013 and was reelected in 2019. He ran under the then-administration coalitions Team PNoy and Hugpong ng Pagbabago, respectively.

Tenure

In the 16th Congress, Angara chaired the Committee on Games, Amusement and Sports. In this capacity, Angara pushed for legislation increasing the amount of financial incentives and benefits given to national athletes, coaches and recognition of athletes with disabilities as national athletes and establishing sports academies and training centers. In 2014, he sought Filipino citizenship for Andray Blatche to make him eligible for the Gilas Pilipinas national basketball team.

Angara acted as chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources. He sponsored RA 10691 or the amended Public Employment Service Office (PESO) Act, which aims to improve and strengthen PESOs' employment facilitation services to help more Filipinos land a job especially in rural areas and poorer municipalities, and RA 10706 or the Seafarers Protection Act, which protects Filipino seafarers from ambulance chasers, particularly lawyers, who charge excessive legal fees arising from accident, illness, or death of seafarers in the course of their service.

In 2016, Angara became the chairman of Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the governing body of basketball in the Philippines. In 2018, he assumed the presidency of the LDP.

In the 18th Congress, Angara chaired the Senate's Finance and Youth committees. As chairman of the Committee of Finance, he sponsored law measures instrumental in the government's COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery. He also chaired the Senate Ways and Means Committee, where he promoted the passage of the Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (TIMTA) and legislation exempting persons with disabilities (PWDs) from the 12-percent value added tax (VAT) on various areas. He also pushed for the increase in the excise tax on tobacco products to help fund the gap for the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act.

In May 2024, Angara was among the six senators who voted to retain Juan Miguel Zubiri as Senate President. Zubiri was eventually ousted with 15 senators voting against him and replaced by Francis Escudero. The seven senators who did not vote for Escudero were collectively called "Magic 7," as they were also seatmates in the session hall. On May 22, Angara was named as the new chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

Secretary of Education (since 2024)

Appointment

On July 2, 2024, President Bongbong Marcos announced the appointment of Angara as secretary of education. He succeeded Vice President Sara Duterte, who resigned from the post on June 19, 2024, amid a rift with the president.

Early tenure

Angara formally took oath as secretary on July 19, following a ceremonial turnover the day before. Upon taking office, Angara resigned his seat in the Senate, which will remain vacant June 30, 2025. The Commission on Appointments later approved his appointment on August 7 with minimal discourse.

In July 2024, Angara instructed his department to simplify teachers' performance review. On May 22, 2025, Angara tendered his courtesy resignation as secretary, following a directive from President Marcos calling for a cabinet-wide resignation. President Marcos rejected his resignation on June 3, retaining him in the position.

Personal life

Angara married ABS-CBN executive Tootsy Echauz in 2003; they have three children.

On March 26, 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19. Angara was one of the first four highest-ranking government officials to have been infected with the SARS-CoV2 including Senators Migz Zubiri and Koko Pimentel, and AFP Chief of Staff General Felimon Santos Jr.. He then recovered from the disease. On May 2, 2020, Angara tested positive for COVID-19 again but has since recovered as well.

Awards

Angara was one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the Philippines awardees for 2010. He received his trophy from President Benigno Aquino III in a ceremony held at the Rizal Hall of the Malacañang Palace. He was also a recipient of the Tanglaw ng Bayan 2011 award, the highest award given by the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in Manila to individuals with exemplary achievements in their respective fields.PUP Awards Tanglaw ng Bayan to House Speaker Belmonte and Representative Angara
, pup.edu.ph. Accessed November 22, 2022. He was conferred honorary doctorate in law (''honoris causa'') by the Ramon Magsaysay Technological University (RMTU) in Iba, Zambales, in November 2011. He was one of nine recipients of the Outstanding Manilan Award in 2017.

References

External links

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Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara
– Senate of the Philippines

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Angara, Sonny
1972 births
Living people
20th-century Filipino lawyers
21st-century Filipino lawyers
People from Aurora (province)
University of the Philippines College of Law alumni
Sonny
Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino politicians
Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Aurora (province)
Senators of the 16th Congress of the Philippines
Senators of the 17th Congress of the Philippines
Senators of the 18th Congress of the Philippines
Senators of the 19th Congress of the Philippines
Secretaries of education of the Philippines
Harvard Law School alumni
The Philippine Star people
Alumni of the London School of Economics