Profile of Senator Sonny Angara (19th Congress)
“Sinisiguro natin na bawat miyembro ng pamilyang Pilipino—mula kay baby at kina ate at kuya hanggang kina nanay at tatay, pati sina lolo at lola—ay sinusuportahan at inaalagaan, nang sa gayon, mabigyan silang lahat ng pagkakataon para mangarap sa isang mas magandang kinabukasan at sa isang mas masagana’t mas mapang-arugang Pilipinas.”
- Senator Sonny Angara
To provide opportunities to every Filipino family is the goal of every measure and policy pushed by Senator Sonny Angara. He is one of the most hardworking and productive members of Congress, having sponsored or authored more than 330 laws in his 18 years as legislator—first as Aurora Province representative from 2004 to 2013, and then as Senator from 2013 to the present. Senator Sonny has authored such landmark legislation as the Free College Law, the Free Kindergarten Law, the Universal Healthcare Act, the expanded Public Employment Service Office (PESO) Act, the Kasambahay Law, the OWWA Charter, the Expanded Senior Citizens Act, the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and incentives Act, and the National Sports Academy Act.
He continues to chair the Senate Committee on Finance. With this portfolio, he helped steer the national response to the pandemic through legislation such as the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, the National COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act, and the Health Emergency Allowance for Health Workers Law. He has also served as the Chairman of the Committee on Youth, where successfully shepherded the SK Reform which among other things, granted monthly honoraria to SK members, sectaries, and treasurers. As Youth Committee Chair in the 19th Congress, he continues to push for greater opportunities for the youth to participate in policy-making and nation-building.
Since 2019, Senator Angara has been advocating a “Tatak Pinoy (Proudly Filipino)” campaign for making Philippine goods and services more sophisticated and globally competitive. Under this initiative, he filed such bills as the Exports and Investments Development Act (EIDA), the Domestic Bidders Preference Program Act, the National Quality Policy and Infrastructure (NQI) Act, and the Shared Service Facilities Act.
Seeing the potential of Filipino professionals to succeed further in the digital economy, Senator Angara was principal author of the Digital Workforce Competitiveness Act. In the 19th Congress, he has filed the National Digital Transformation Act, the Local ICT Officers Act, and the Science and Technology Parks Incentives Act, among many other measures.
Senator Sonny is a graduate of Xavier School, the London School of Economics, the University of the Philippines College of Law, and Harvard Law School. He has been a regular newspaper columnist, and a professor of Law. He is the co-team captain of the Senate Defenders, the official basketball team of the Senate.
He is happily married to wife Tootsy and they have three children.