EdAngara.com - The Official Website of Senator Edgardo J. Angara

I vote “YES” to enacting the RH bill into law. It’s an affirmation of our basic human rights, especially the rights of women, and the right to reproductive health.

At the moment, we have to respond to the challenges that threaten our country:

1,000 women continue to die yearly during pregnancy and childbirth;
about 150,000 children are born from teenage mothers every year;
women who cannot support their children put them into orphanages or labor work;
we have almost 2 million orphans from 0 to 17 years of age, and about 4 million child laborers ages 5 to 17;

Senator Edgardo J. Angara clarified today that he is not against the Anti No Permit, No Exam bill in principle, but proposes alternate policy measures to fine tune its implementation.

During yesterday’s budget hearing, Senator Vicente Sotto III inquired about the stand of the Department of Education on the proposed Anti No Permit, No Exam bill.

Angara explained that the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture, which he chairs, agrees that there ought to be regulations concerning tuition payment.

To meet the country's growing needs for qualified professionals especially in the Armed Forces, Senator Edgardo J. Angara pushed for the establishment of an educational institution that will equip Filipino pilot officers with the proper training and education during the Senate Committee hearing on the creation of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) Academy.

In continuing support for accessible quality education, Senator Edgardo J. Angara emphasized that a special unit within the Department of Education (DepEd) needs to be created to focus and target children with special needs (CSN)—those that are gifted or with disabilities.

According to the DepEd, there were an estimated 5.4 million Filipino CSN as of 2010, representing a mixture of students who are blind, deaf, mute, and with conditions like autism and of students who exhibited superior academic performance.

During debates on the Senate Floor, Senator Edgardo J. Angara clarified pressing issues regarding the Enhanced Basic Education Act, which institutionalizes the K to 12 program proposed by the Department of Education (DepEd).

Among the issues raised were the shortage in classrooms, teachers, and textbooks; the two-year gap of no incoming freshmen in colleges and universities come 2016 and 2017; and the reception among parents who would be spending for their kids' two more years of schooling.

Senator Edgardo J . Angara lauded the Department of Energy (DOE) for tying up with academic institutions for renewable energy (RE) projects but urged that industry stakeholders should also be involved.

DOE Undersecretarty Jose Layug Jr. recently told the press that the department will partner with select universities across the country to form affiliated renewable-energy centers (ARECs) that will monitor RE projects for research and development (R&D) purposes.

In a recent budget hearing, Senator Edgardo J. Angara called on State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in Region II to focus their research and development (R&D) projects on protecting their watershed and optimizing the region's irrigation system.

Angara added that ,in doing so, these SUCs such as the Cagayan State University can meaningfully contribute to food security and agricultural development in the region.

"Region II is still sparsely populated, but the potential and the richness of its resources are hardly tapped," said Angara.

Senator Edgardo J. Angara welcomed the recent signing of an executive order (EO) that institutionalizes a unified educational and training system throughout the country.

Earlier this week, President Benigno Aquino III signed EO 83, establishing the Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF) which harmonizes basic education, technical-vocational education and higher education into a nationwide schedule of skills and competencies.

Senator Edgardo J. Angara reiterated that government should support both the students and the institutions in the private education sector to sustain them and act as safeguards against the rising cost of schooling in the Philippines.

To this end, Angara filed early September Senate Bill No. 3285 entitled "An Act Further Democratizing Educational Opportunities In Higher Education, Creating A Fund And A Loan Program For Students And Parents In Private Education, Appropriating Funds Thereof, And For Other Purposes."

Senator Edgardo J. Angara urged the government to strengthen its partnerships with private organizations in order to improve the quality of education in the country.

Angara, Chair of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture, said public-private partnerships (PPPs) play a vital role in the delivery of education services to the public such as with teachers training, management, curriculum design and infrastructure development.