32 Facts About Edgardo Angara

In between his Senate stints, Edgardo Angara served as Secretary of Agriculture from 1999 to 2001 and held other government positions briefly.

Outside politics, Edgardo Angara served as the President of the University of the Philippines and established himself as one of the most important figures in the bar when he was elected president of the Philippine Bar Association, the nation's oldest voluntary bar society.

Edgardo Angara's leadership was acknowledged even on a global scale.

Edgardo Angara was chosen to serve as the first president of the largest regional legal association in the world, the Association of Southeast Asian Countries Law Association, when it was founded in 1980.

Edgardo Angara was born on September 24,1934, in Baler, then part of the sub-province of Aurora in Tayabas, to Juan Angara and Juana Javier.

Edgardo Angara earned his law degree from the University of the Philippines in 1958.

Edgardo Angara was a delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention representing the first district of Quezon.

Edgardo Angara became president of the Philippine Bar Association from 1975 to 1976, and of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines from 1979 to 1981.

Edgardo Angara founded the ASEAN Law Association and became its founding president from 1980 to 1981.

From 1981 to 1987, Edgardo Angara became president of the University of the Philippines.

Edgardo Angara rallied alumni in the country and abroad to pool their resources for various projects to mark the university's diamond jubilee in 1983, including the creation of additional professorial chairs and faculty grants.

Edgardo Angara defended the state university's tradition of dissent and fiscal autonomy, while maintaining its reputation for academic excellence.

Edgardo Angara established stronger links with the business community and alumni organizations, raising the biggest faculty endowment in the university.

Edgardo Angara first served as senator from 1987 until 1992.

On September 16,1989, Angara led a one-day forum with Alfonso J Aguirre for the centennial of Jose Rizal's essay "Filipinas dentro de cien anos".

Edgardo Angara authored the Free High School Act that ensured secondary education even for the poorest; the Senior Citizens Act that allowed the elderly to avail of substantial discounts when buying medicine or riding public transport; the National Health Insurance Act, or PhilHealth, that provided insurance to every citizen; and the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education, the biggest scholarship program.

Edgardo Angara authored the Magna Carta for Public Health Workers and was the principal author of the laws that created the new National Museum and the National Commission on Culture and the Arts.

Edgardo Angara prepared to run for president in the 1998 Philippine election, but decided against it when it became clear that he could not win over the popular vice president Joseph Estrada.

Edgardo Angara accepted a deal offered by Estrada to run as his vice presidential candidate instead.

In 1999, Edgardo Angara was appointed Secretary of Agriculture by Estrada.

Edgardo Angara oversaw an improvement of food production programs and support services that led to a bigger harvest of rice, a development that underscored the drive to attain food security.

Edgardo Angara remained loyal to Estrada until the end of his presidency, though he later asserted that his support for Estrada was contingent on the latter's undertaking to pass reforms.

Edgardo Angara successfully ran for senator in the 2001 Philippine election.

Edgardo Angara was re-elected to a fourth term in 2007, making him the longest-serving senator in the post-EDSA revolution legislature, matching Senator Lorenzo Tanada who served four consecutive terms from 1947 to 1972.

Edgardo Angara authored or sponsored many laws including the Free High School Education Act, the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education or GASTPE Law, the Generics Act, the law which created Philhealth, the original Senior Citizens Act, Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization Act, Government Procurement Act, the Renewable Energy Act, among several others.

Juan Edgardo Angara authored Republic Act No 9490 which created the Aurora Special Economic Zone Authority, the body tasked to administer the economic zone in Brgy.

From January 16 to May 29,2012, Edgardo Angara acted as one of the Senator-Judges in the impeachment trial of the Senate of then Chief Justice Renato Corona and was one of the 20 Senator-Judges that voted to convict him of the impeachment charges exhibited by the House of Representatives and remove him from public office.

Edgardo Angara died from an apparent heart attack on May 13,2018, at the age of 83.

Edgardo Angara's death was announced by his son Sonny over his Twitter page.

Edgardo Angara's remains were buried in his hometown of Baler, Aurora.

Senator Edgardo Angara's life was dramatized in the episode of ABS-CBN's drama anthology series, Maalaala Mo Kaya, titled "Family Portrait", originally aired on February 2,2019.

Edgardo Angara was portrayed by Christopher de Leon, with younger versions portrayed by Raikko Mateo and James Blanco.