Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Manalang Angara (Tagalog:[aŋˈɡara]; born July 15, 1972) is a Filipino politician and lawyer serving as a
Senator since 2013. He is the principal author and sponsor of Republic Act No. 11981 also known as the Tatak Pinoy (Proudly Filipino) Act, a landmark law for establishing a policy platform for the public and private sectors to collaborate to help domestic enterprises become more globally competitive and offer more diverse and sophisticated products and services. [1]He is also the chairman of
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the governing body of basketball in the Philippines.
He 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.[3]
He 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. 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.
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. 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). 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 Congressman
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.[4]
Angara was elected to a third term as congressman for Aurora in
2010. 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,[5] 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.[6]
As a three-term congressman, he authored several measures signed into law by the President of the Philippines, such as:
Pre-Need Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 9829)[13]
Aurora Special Economic Zone Act of 2007 (Republict Act No. 9490)[14]
Tax Exemption for Minimum Wage Earners Law (Republic Act No. 9504)[15]
Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Act of 2009 (Republic Act No. 9586)[16]
Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008 (Republic Act No. 9497)[17]
Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) Act of 2008 (Republic Act No. 9505)[18]
Tourism Act of 2009 (Republic Act No. 9593) [citation needed]
University of the Philippines Charter of 2008 (Republic Act No. 9500)[19]
An Act Providing for the Legitimation of Children Born to Parents Below Marrying Age, Amending for the Purpose the Family Code of the Philippines, as Amended (Republic Act No. 9858)[20]
National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 (Republic Act 10066)[21]
Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 (Republic Act No. 9994)[22]
Financial Rehabilitation and Insolvency Act (FRIA) of 2010 (Republic Act 10142)[23]
Angara was elected to the Senate in
2013 and was reelected in
2019.[27] He ran under the then-administration coalitions
Team PNoy and
Hugpong ng Pagbabago, respectively. He has sponsored or authored more than 200 laws in his nearly two decades of service as a legislator.[28]
In the present 19th Congress (2022-2025), Senator Angara has authored, co-authored and sponsored into law the following measures:[29]
Republic Act 11981, Tatak Pinoy Act
Republic Act 11975, 2024 General Appropriations Act
Republic Act 11958, Act Rationalizing the Disability Pension of Veterans
Republic Act 11957, Act Recognizing Baler, Aurora as the Birthplace of Philippine Surfing
Republic Act 11955, Act Granting Philippine Citizenship to Kyle Douglas Jennermann
Republic Act 11953, Condonation of Agrarian Reform Debt
Republic Act 11937, Granting Philippine Citizenship to Justin Brownlee
Republic Act 11936, 2023 General Appropriations Act
In the 18th Congress, Senator Angara chairs the Senate's Finance and Youth committees:
As chairman of the Senate Committee of Finance, Senator Angara sponsored into law measures crucial to
COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery:[30]
Republic Act 11525, COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act
Republic Act 11640, Extending the Availability of the 2021 General Appropriations Act
Republic Act 11639, 2022 General Appropriations Act
Republic Act 11520, Extending the Availability of the 2020 General Appropriations Act
Republic Act 11519, Extending the availability of appropriations under RA 11494 or the Bayanihan 2
Republic Act 11518, 2021 General Appropriations Act
Laws sponsored/authored in the 16th Congress (2013 to 2016):[33]
Republic Act 10754, An Act Expanding the Benefits and Privileges of Persons with Disability (PWDs)
Republic Act 10747, Rare Diseases Act
Republic Act 10741, Act Strengthening National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC)
Republic Act 10708, Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (TIMTA)
Republic Act 10706, Seafarers Protection Act
Republic Act 10699, National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act
Republic Act 10687, Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education Act (UniFAST Act)
Republic Act 10679, Youth Entrepreneurship Act
Republic Act 10665, Open High School System Act
Republic Act 10650, Open Learning and Distance Education Act
Formerly, Angara was the chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, Angara has already worked for the enactment of:[34]
Republic Act 10708 or the Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (TIMTA) that aims to promote transparency and accountability in the grant and administration of tax incentives to registered business entities so as to encourage investors to bring more businesses to the country, generate more employment opportunities, and boost Philippine economic growth.[35]
Republic Act 10754 or the VAT Exemption for Persons with Disability. This law exempts persons with disabilities (PWDs) from the 12-percent value added tax (VAT) on land transportation, domestic air and sea travels; on fees and charges for medical and dental services; on cost of medicines; on funeral and burial services; on fees and charges in hotels and restaurants, among others.[36]
Republic Act 11346 or the Increase in the excise tax on tobacco products to help fund the gap for the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act [37]
In the 16th Congress, Angara formerly chaired Committee on Games, Amusement and Sports where he is actively pushing for greater support for Filipino athletes and competitiveness of national sports teams competing in international competitions. Through this committee, he has authored and sponsored the following laws:
RA 10699 or the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act that increased the amount of financial incentives and benefits given to national athletes, coaches and recognition of athletes with disabilities as national athletes.[38]
RA 10636 granting Filipino citizenship to
Andray Blatche for eligibility to join the Gilas Pilipinas national basketball team.[39]
Republic Acts 10674, 10680, 10681, 10682 and 10683 which established sports academies and training centers respectively in Davao de Norte, Misamis Occidental, Talisay Cebu, Alfonso Cavite and Siargao Island to hone the skills and raw talent of young athletes from the provinces and jumpstart grassroots sports development.[40]
Angara was formerly acting chairman of the Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources. He sponsored RA 10691 or the amended Public Employment Service Office (PESO) Act,[41] 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.[citation needed]
Personal life
He married ABS-CBN executive Tootsy Echauz in 2003; they have three children.[42]
On March 26, 2020, he tested positive for
COVID-19. He was one of the four highest ranking Philippine Government officials to have been infected with the
SARS-CoV2 including Senator
Zubiri, Senator
Pimentel and AFP Chief of Staff General
Santos. He then recovered from the disease.[citation needed]
Awards
He 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
Malacañan.[43] 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.[44] 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.[45]