Internationally acclaimed
academicians endorse Angara

Former University of the Philippines (UP) president Francisco "Dodong" Nemenzo and internationally respected academician Arsenio Balisacan have endorsed the candidacy of Team Unity candidate and reelectionist senator Edgardo J. Angara, citing his trailblazing work for the education and other social and economic sectors.

"Angara applies his intelligence, diligence and methodical work style to every position he holds. As senator, he devotes himself to legislation rather than waste too much time conducting investigations that rarely produce significant results," said Nemenzo, a former UP president like Angara.

Balisacan, who is currently director of the South East Asian Regional Center for Graduate Studies and Research in Agriculture, said that from the point of view of economists and development experts, "Sen. Angara is identified with education, agriculture and development."

Balisacan, also an economics professor at UP, said that Angara has a "reformist zeal" which he translated into big work that helped restructure and modernize the education, health and agriculture sectors.

"Senator Angara's passion for good work and service for the common good has been infectious. Truly, he is a reformer, visionary, builder and statesman," said Balisacan, who served as undersecretary for policy during Angara's term as agriculture secretary.

Nemenzo said Angara also worked for marginal sectors. The Senior Citizens Act was a law Angara wrote for the country's senior citizens, he said.

The work of Angara for the education sector is appreciated across-the-board, according to polling firms.

He is a senatorial candidate of choice of 44.9 per cent of the youth in the 18-24 age bracket.

He is also one of the top three senatorial choices of voters with no formal or with limited education, the sectors that have struggled to get a basic education.

Angara was the driving force behind the creation of the Congressional Commission on Educational Modernization (EDCOM) which studied in-depth the problems of Philippine education and prescribed remedies to these problems.

He was the author and principal sponsor of the landmark Free High School Law and the law that established the first voucher system for education, the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE).

He restructured the then Department of Education, Culture and Sports to make it leaner and more responsive to the needs of basic education. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) were created from this highly-acknowledged restructuring effort.

Angara also wrote and sponsored laws on health reforms, agricultural modernization, anti-corruption and the promotion of culture and the arts.