From education to healthcare to local industries, this hardworking legislator most certainly has a track record for gettting things done. And in doing so, this People of the Year 2020 awardee shines, not just as his father’s son, but as his own man.
By JOSE PAOLO S. DELA CRUZ
Art direction Ramon Joseph J. Ruiz
Photography by Mau Aguasin
To the public, Juan Edgardo Manalang Angara, 48 years old, is a Senator; head of the Chamber’s Committees on Finance and on the Youth; author of laws such as the Universal Kindergarten Law, Early Years Act, Anti-Bullying Law, the University of the Philippines Charter, Ladderized Education Act, and the recently enacted RA 10687 or the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Higher and Technical Education (UNIFAST), among others.
Now on his second term, he has consistently landed on the first half of the Magic 12, ever since he ran for the Senate in 2013.
But on the day of this shoot, he is simply Sonny—the Sonny, who, along with his three sisters, grew up in the wood-and-stone enclave where he is being photographed. He reminisces about his years as a toddler, when the pitter patter of his young feet would energize the home, owned by his mother Gloria Manalang Angara and her husband, the iconic legislator and late Senate President Ed Angara.
“My father was a very busy man,” he shares. “We knew he was in politics, but he rarely spoke of it when he was home. I only realized that he was one of the most important people in the country by the time he became Senate President.”
Sonny also says that the family very rarely sat in the formal dining rooms and living rooms of the house. His memories are mainly from the cozier times they spent with each other in the kitchen and the birthday parties he threw for his friends by the pool.
It was a politician’s house, yes. But it was also a family’s home.
Ed Angara, who passed away a year and a half ago remains to be an inspiration to his son. He was, after all, the original Angara of Philippine politics—a staunch advocate of education, national pride and progress.
Like his father, Sonny, too, is a lawyer. Like Sonny, the elder Angara was also a senator. But in the end, despite his father having virtually laid out the template on how to live and come to pass as a respected name in public service, Sonny chooses to carve his own path.
Paraphrasing a famous saying, Sonny shares one of his life’s mantras: “Seek not to follow the footsteps of the wise; seek what they sought.”
And there, in that sentence, is the story of his life.
Law of attraction
It is a common phrase: law of attraction, the ability to attract into our lives whatever it is we are focusing on. Naturally, a man who grew up in the Angara household would think of education.
Sonny, who entered politics in 2004 as the representative of the lone district of Aurora, has had the privilege of not just growing up with his wise father’s counsel, but also working with him to achieve common goals. “Education is a big one. It’s my dad’s legacy, especially free high school education for everyone. We did the Universal Kindergarten Law together when I was a congressman, and he was a senator,” he recalls.
A couple of years back, he was also a pivotal force in enacting the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which gives students free access to college education. The senator also reiterates that this does not just cover public and state universities, but even private institutions as well. “It’s a lesser-known aspect of the law. If a town has no state or public school, a low-income family can apply for a voucher from the government so the person could enroll in a private university. Everyone should have a chance,” he says.
While he admits that the law would require the government to exponentially increase its spending from five to 10 billion pesos to around 50 billion pesos a year, he stays firm on his belief that such an expense is worth it. “We’re talking about a major impact in every individual’s life, which collectively contributes to nation-building. Every successful person will tell you that education is an investment that should be made, whether by the person, the family, or, in this case, the state.”
What’s next?
Sonny also pushes for laws that give free health care. He says that this comes hand in hand with education.
And while having educated and healthy Filipinos is a noble goal, it is more of a beginning than an end. “So, you have people who have a college degree, people who are healthy. What do you do with them?” he asks.
Certainly not just send them as overseas workers so that other countries might benefit from them. As such, Sonny pushes for laws that improve local industries, so that the engineers would no longer have to go to Saudi Arabia, the nurses won’t have to go to Germany or Ireland or Australia. Ultimately, the senator believes that the goal is to equip people with good health and proper education so that they can enrich the nation. Thus, local industries need to be developed to support the growing workforce.
A change in mindset, he thinks, is also in order. “It’s sad, but it seems like we aren’t proud of making things anymore. We like to import. I think it’s high time that we revived manufacturing and creative industries locally. That’s why it brings me joy to know of Filipino chocolatiers who are winning awards internationally, Swatches that are Philippine-made,” he says.
Sonny shows us his wrist, where a handsomely designed watch from a local brand called Ibarra, rests. Upon learning that this watch, while designed by Filipinos, still uses Japanese mechanism, the senator encouraged the young entrepreneurs behind it to try getting the whole value for their investment. “Now they are talking to some Japanese experts to teach them how to make the mechanism themselves, so that they can produce the entire watch locally. That’s the kind of thinking I’m talking about,” he says.
Sometimes the goals he’d pursue would cross paths with those his father once took. Other times, they would lead to an altogether new pursuit. But ultimately, it all boils down to what both Angaras sought: being of service to the nation.
A man fulfilled
In his 15 years in public service, Sonny has received several prestigious accolades, including “The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM)” Award in 2010, for his outstanding performance and achievements as a legislator. He was also hailed as one of Men’s Health Magazine’s “Heroes of Health and Fitness” in 2014 for initiating legislation to develop Philippine sports, and was one of PeopleAsia’s “Men Who Matter” in 2015, to name a few.
Still, Sonny, who also became a “Tanyag na Ulirang Ama” awardee in 2017, knows that family remains to be his greatest treasure. He is a father to three kids: a 15-year-old six-footer son who plays tennis; a very smart daughter, who once wrote him a letter to ‘not pass the death penalty’; and a young boy, who serves as the family’s “toy.”
And of course, there’s his wife, the charming and beautiful Tootsy Angara, with whom he travels and enjoys Netflix during downtime.
As a father and legislator, it also worries him how recent studies have shown that seven out of 10 teenagers don’t have dreams. And so, he works doubly hard in inspiring them to dream of a brighter future through his work as a legislator.
