Angara earns title of "Mr. Education"

Senator Ed Angara speaks before the new graduates of the University of Bohol.

Re-electionist Senator Edgardo J. Angara, the most invited Senatoriable to graduation exercises, keeps his campaign sorties this week to speaking before students in colleges and universities, from the biggest to the smallest.

This week, Angara spoke at the University of Bohol, the Eastern Visayas State University in Leyte and three campuses of Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College. Today, he will speak before the graduates of the University of Cebu.

"I wish I could be in two places at the same time. I want to join my Team in campaigning before our Bicolano supporters, but the graduation season is also an opportune time to talk to our youth from all corners of the country and hear what they have to say, what they expect from the future," he said. Team Unity is set to visit Legaspi, Naga, Sorsogon, Libmanan and Iriga this week. Angara is scheduled to follow in Libmanan on Saturday.

Angara, former President of the University of the Philippines and author of the laws creating CHED and TESDA, spoke before students on the importance of science and technology in today's advanced world, and said it is essential for the Philippines to have a clear idea how its students are faring in this subject area as well as in other seemingly demanding, highly technical areas like engineering.

"There have been so many tremendous advances in technology over the last decade, and its pace is accelerating. Every day new things are discovered, and with the increase in scientific knowledge, there is a corresponding increase in the demand for educated students," Angara said.

He added, "In order to keep developing our country, we need constant new waves of educated students who will be ready to conduct the latest scientific and mathematical research, teaching and technological development."

Angara expressed his alarm over the Philippines' slipping competitiveness and constant weak spots in math and science. In the last TIMSS survey conducted in 2003, the Philippines ranked next to lowest among participating countries in the average scale scores of high school students in both mathematics and science.

In response, Angara authored a Senate resolution calling for the creation of a Congressional committee to look into the country's science, engineering, and technology research and development (R&D) sector.

Called the COMSET, or the Commission on Science, Engineering, and Technology, this body shall undertake a national review and assessment of the Philippines' science, engineering, and technology research and development system.

COMSET should explore the fundamental problems and issues of the Science & Technology sector with a view toward enhancing the system's internal capability to satisfactorily implement the constitutional provisions on science and technology.

"Our educational system may have to be placed under the microscope in the process of this inquiry. Only in this way can the system be adequately provided with the necessary funding requirement as well as related infrastructure support," he said.

Angara is set to speak at the commencement exercises of the Technological University of the Philippines (TUP), Central Luzon State University (CLSU) in Nueva Ecija, UP Pampanga, Tomas del Rosario College in Bataan, Airlink International Aviation College, Zion Evangelical School in Zamboanga City, Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation in Pangasinan, and UP Manila College of Arts and Letters.