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

MADRID, SPAIN--Senator Edgardo J. Angara gave a special message as the guest of honor during the joint celebration of the 115th Philippine Independence Day and the 11th Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day at the Philippine Embassy.

Angara, author of the law honoring the long-standing link between Spain and the Philippines, highlighted the shared history between the two countries in his keynote speech.

As the 15th Congress winds to a close, graduating Senator Edgardo J. Angara ends his term with a rousing "valedictory" speech, thanking everyone who took part in his projects and initiatives in his 24 years in the Senate.

I entered the Senate during an era far different from this one I am leaving after 23 years.

In 1987, I joined a legislature charged to help restore democracy after years of authoritarianism and rebuild a nation beset with decline and corruption.

Rampant poverty, crime and economic stagnation hounded the country, making these the foremost challenges a renascent Congress had to address head on.

Paris, France—Senator Edgardo J. Angara is slated to participate in the 2013 Forum of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to be held Paris from May 28 to 29, 2013.

Senator Edgardo J. Angara highlighted the importance of policy-making at the grassroots level in national development as he addressed the Philippine Councilor's League (PCL) at the awarding of The Outstanding Councilors of the Philippines (TOCP) held recently.

"We in the Senate try to serve the needs of the country as a whole--but as local leaders you can see and feel the sentiments, the needs of your constituents, and use the unique assets and resources available to you," he explained.

Two esteemed scholars from the United States are coming to Manila next week to speak at a roundtable discussion on Electoral Reform to be hosted by the Angara Centre for Law and Economics on January 29, 2013.

Dr. John VC Nye of George Mason University will present research on the automation of Philippine elections, while Dr. Alberto Simpser of the University of Chicago will present a paper on electoral fraud across the globe.

This Christmas feels like deja vu: we mourn once again for another thousand victims of a year-ender megastorm. For the 65 years that we have been recording our weather, Typhoon Pablo may be the second deadliest storm to date, after Typhoon Uring, which killed more than 5,000 people in 1991.

Harvard economist and best-selling author, Dr. James Robison is set to visit the country to headline a Roundtable Conference co-hosted by the Angara Centre for Law and Economics and The World Bank on December 5, 2012, Wednesday, from 9:00 to 12:00 noon at the Ballroom 1 of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Makati City.

Senator Edgardo J. Angara reiterated the need to review tedious government processes shortly after the World Bank released its most recent report on how economies rate in terms of the ease of doing business.

The Philippines was ranked 138th among 185 economies studied by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in the "Doing Business 2013: Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises," report released last week.

Among Asian countries, the Philippines is included in the bottom four, ahead only of Timor Leste, Laos and Micronesia.

Senator Edgardo J. Angara emphasized that a state subsidy for political parties will strengthen the country’s party system and help make elections fairer and more equitable.

Angara, Chairman and President of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), noted that government funding for political parties are common features in many countries with mature democracies like Canada, Germany, Australia, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.