Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Representative Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara admits he feels slightly pressured whenever he’s compared to his father, incumbent Senator Edgardo Angara.
“May konting pressure kasi napakagaling ng tatay natin. Ang mahalaga ay may sarili tayong nagawa at tumatayo sa sariling record (There’s slight pressure because my father is very good in what he does. What’s important is we have our own achievements and we stand on our own feet with good records),” he said in an interview with “Isyu ng Bayan” on Radyo INQUIRER 990AM.
He said he’s aware of the saying “like father, like son.”
Senator Angara is serving his last term in the Senate. He has served from 1987 to 1999, in between was Senate President from 1993 to 1995, and was re-elected in 2001 and 2007. A known intellectual, the older Angara is recognized as an educator, having served as president of the University of the Philippines-Diliman and lawyer, being a co-founder of ACRRA law office. He is also a noted supporter of arts and culture.
The younger Angara is on his third and final term as Representative of the lone district of Aurora province.
“Yung hamon na mapantayan ang ating ama, ginagamint nating inspirason. S’ya ang ating huwaran sa ating political career. (The challenge to at least equal the achievements of our father, we use that as an inspiration. He is our model in our political career.)”
Juan Edgardo is running for Senator under the Liberal Party.
If elected, he said his focus will be on education and job opportunities.
“We have six million out-of-school youths, including the drop outs. Nahihirapan sila. Walang training. So kahit vocational courses, malaking bagay para matulungan sila (They are struggling in life because they have no training so enrolling in vocational courses is important to help them).”
He also made a call on concerned citizens to be vigilant in the coming automated elections because despite the many advantages of the said technology, he believes there are still some sectors that will try to jeopardize the result of the polls.