MANILA – Former Senate president Edgardo J. Angara passed away on Sunday, his son announced.
“Sad to say my father frmr Sen. Edgardo Javier Angara passed on from this life this morning at the age of 83, from an apparent heart attack [sic],” Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara said on Twitter.
Senator Angara asked for prayers for the repose of his father’s soul.
The wake starts Monday at the Heritage Memorial Park in Taguig City, the younger Angara said.
As senator, the elder Angara pushed for laws on agriculture, education, health, arts and culture, and science and technology, among others.
He also served as Department of Agriculture secretary and University of the Philippines president.
In 2017 President Rodrigo Duterte named the elder Angara as a special envoy to the European Union.
Malacañang mourns the death of the elder Angara, whom Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque described as “one of our great leaders and statesmen.”
“Senator Angara has served the Philippines in several administrations and in various capacities, the last of which was as Special Envoy to the European Union under the Duterte administration,” Roque said in a statement.
“Mr. Angara’s contribution to nation-building was immense and his name will always be prominent in the pages of our country’s modern political history. He will be missed,” Roque added.
Senators also mourned the passing of the elder Angara.
“We lost a great man, a visionary, an indefatigable worker, esteemed public servant, deep thinker, one of the [Philippines’] most brilliant minds, a dear friend,” said Loren Legarda.
Francis Escudero described him as an “excellent lawyer, dedicated educator, esteemed former colleague in the Senate, and patriot.”
“I most respectfully convey my sincerest condolences to his bereaved wife, children, family, and loved ones,” Escudero said.
Francis Pangilinan said he looked up to Edgardo J. Angara in the Senate.
“My first encounter with him was when we both sat as members of the University of the Philippines Board of Regents in 1986. I was chairman of the UP Student Council and he was UP president,” Pangilinan said.
Nancy Binay said the late former senator distinguished himself in his decades-long service to the country.
“Nakikiramay at nakikidalamhati ako sa pamilyang Angara, lalung-lalo na kay Senator Sonny,” she said. “My thoughts and sympathies are with you on this sad day.”
In the Senate, Angara pushed for the passage of the Free High School Act, Higher Education Act, Technical Education and Skills Development Act, National Health Insurance Act, Senior Citizens Act, Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act, Renewable Energy Act, and Procurement Reform Act.
Sherwin Gatchalian said he will remember Angara, a “venerable statesman,” for his “gracious character.”
“The legacy of Senator Ed as a true champion of the people’s right to education will continue to serve as an inspiration for me and like-minded education advocates who endeavor to continue his noble work,” he said.
Joel Villanueva considers Angara his “biggest mentor” and “inspiration” in public service. “He treated me like his own son. I am out of words to adequately express the sorrow I feel at this moment.”
Juan Miguel Zubiri believes the elder Angara was “one of the best presidents the country could have had.”
“He was my [adoptive] father and mentor in the Senate, and almost everything I know about legislating in the upper chamber came from Senator (Edgardo J.) Angara,” said Zubiri./PN
