The cause of our mis-education and mal-education is under-investment in the educational training of our youth. You can tell me now the problems and I can tell you that it is because we have not invested enough in education." (Photo by PINGGOT ZULUETA)

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Edgardo J. Angara is seldom seen in the limelight, much unlike his colleagues who are always delivering privilege speeches, exchanging heated words, or questioning people in investigations. It turned out, he was intending it to be this way.

He is so far the longest-serving senator, having been reelected four times since 1987. Unknown to many, this academician created pioneering laws that formed the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the National Museum, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and the Government Assistance to Students in Private Education (GASPE).

“Unang-una, hindi ako mahilig mag talumpati, so hindi ako nagsisinungaling di ba? Pangalawa, talagang doer ako, kapag sinabi ko na gagawin ko, gagawin ko. I can translate my ideas to policies. And ‘yung mga batas na ginawa ko really benefited people, hindi parang trophy lang that you put on the wall,” says the senator who just turned 76 last Friday.

When this former president of the University of the Philippines became senator, it was just natural for him to focus on making laws about education.

But Angara had deeper objectives than just continuing his education advocacies.

“I’ve pushed for government assistance for education because of my own personal experience. I think I got a good education because of the educational system then. I was also able to go abroad because of scholarship. Kung wala ‘yung system of rewards I don’t think I’ll be here before you. Kaya I’m devoting myself to providing the Filipino with an opportunity to get an education, to be exposed to culture, and to have food. Those are my advocacies,” explains Angara.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Education continues to push for reforms in the educational system, particularly in the curriculum and method of teaching, in a way that does not seem interfering.

“It is wrong for politicians to interfere with education. Let the educationists sit down and canvass the entirety of educational trends. What I want to do is to sit down with the educators and educationists in a brainstorming session. Let them identify our problems, and then we prioritize it,” he stresses.

As a young boy, Sen. Angara dreamed bigtime, and worked hard to achieve it. “When I was young, I said I wanted to be the best in my class.

Then I shifted focus. I’m going to be the best leader in my class kaya ako ang presidente lagi ng klase ko. And then when I graduated, I’m going to be a congressman. At 34, I wanted to be the best lawyer. I became one and helped build the best law office. But when President Cory asked me to run for the Senate, that’s how I got lost. I was going to buy suka, pinatakbo na ako sa Senado,” recalls Angara.

And the rest is history.

In this 60 Minutes interview, the usually serious senator lets down his guard and shares with us his take on education issues, his advice to the next UP president, his frustrations over some officials who do not deserve to get elected, and his long-lasting love affair with farming. (Rachel C. Barawid)

STUDENTS AND CAMPUSES BULLETIN (SCB): Why did you not run for a higher office considering that you have been the longest-serving senator?
EDGARDO J. ANGARA (EJA): Unelectable ako eh, hindi ako artista (laughs). By 2013, I would’ve been in the Senate the longest, 24 years. This is almost continuous except for the mandatory break. ‘Yung class ko ng 1987, ako lang ‘yung na elect na almost continuously, no other person has done that.

SCB: But people keep electing you, how do you maintain that trust between the people and yourself?
EJA: Unang-una, hindi ako mahilig mag talumpati, so hindi ako nagsisinungaling di ba? ‘Pag ganun ang dami mong ipapangako, hindi mo naman mabibigay. Pangalawa, talagang doer ako, kapag sinabi ko na gagawin ko, gagawin ko. I can translate my ideas to policies. And ‘yung mga batas na ginawa ko really affected people, hindi parang trophy lang. I helped the senior citizens, they get real discounts and benefits. I helped students, whether in public schools or the private schools through the GASTPE (Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education) that’s now almost P8 billion sponsorship program. Many of the missionary schools survive up to now because of GASTPE, especially in Mindanao, maraming mahihirap na bata dun. Many people are covered by healthcare insurance because of me. Laws that I have passed translated to actual benefit to people, it’s actual eh, it’s real.

Education First
SCB: Why the particular attention to education?
EJA: Because of my own personal experience. I think I got good education because of the educational system then. Dahil kapag valedictorian ka automatic admitted ka sa UP. ‘Pag magaling ka dun, tuition mo almost nothing. I was able to go abroad because of scholarships, kung wala ‘yung mga ganun system of rewards and scholarships,

I don’t think I’ll be here before you. I’ll be out in Baler, tilling the soil, which I would love as well. I achieved what I have achieved because of education.

Many of us don’t have that opportunity. Giving them that opportunity is almost like winning the lottery. Ang sabi ko, I’m going to devote myself to providing the Filipino with an opportunity to get an education, to be exposed to culture, and to have food. My advocacies are education, health, agriculture and culture. Most major measures in education, in health, all the landmark laws on culture and the arts, are mine.

SCB: You were also behind the laws that created CHED, TESDA, the National Museum, and the NCCA...
EJA: Yes. My last was the National Cultural Heritage Bill, for the conservation and preservation of our tangible cultural heritage. We’ve been losing them because no one cares about it. Luma na kasi, sinisira na nila at pinapalitan because there is no consciousness. The past is part of our present, you need to study it if you want to go forward.

I wrote that Heritage Bill, and for the first time the State is mandated to preserve both our physical, historical, cultural, and even our intangible heritage. Mga seascape, landscape na magaganda. Tingnan mo ang mga churches natin, about four of them are heritage sites — Paoay, Santa Maria, San Agustin. ‘Yung Banaue Rice Terraces, it is slowly decaying and eroding and nobody cares about it, kasi walang consciousness. Before NCCA, the State had no duty to subsidize the arts and culture. But for the first time, the State is now supporting all art forms.

SCB: What do you think is the main problem with education that needs to be solved first before anything else?
EJA: Lahat ‘yun. Katulad nung sinasabi nilang dapat ang basic education natin ay 12 years, tama ‘yun. That is the universal norm. ‘Yung apat na anak ko, I saw to it that they had the best undergraduate education I could afford. And since I was in education, I know of the different educational systems. All of them studied in the UK.

Graduate ka ng Architecture from the best universities here pero pagpunta mo sa Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, or the US, dahil 10 years lang ang basic education mo, they will not give you full recognition as an architect. They’ll treat you and pay you as a draftsman. Second class ka. You handicap your own people.

SCB: But adding those two years is easier said than done, many contend…
EJA: Two more years, saan mo ilalagay ‘yan? Before elementary or after high school? Or between elementary and high school? It is important where you put it kasi if you put it in basic education, it’s less financially burdensome to the parents. But gawin mong pre-university, the financial burden is passed on to the parents.

SCB: What about the cost of implementing it?
EJA: Funding is the more important question. Way back in 1998, chairman ako ng Education (committee). I had the cost of an extra year calculated and that time, it was between eight to P9 billion for extra teachers and classrooms. Now I’m seeing calculations of P15 billion for one year, an amount that staggering will frighten everyone from adapting. And yet you have to face it because the longer you postpone it, the greater your problem.

If we pushed it in 1998 it would have cost us P9 billion. But we waited almost one generation and now, it is P15 billion a year. The longer you postpone it, the more serious it becomes financially, apart from the loss of valuable contact time that the Filipino students need. Education is contact time with your teachers. Less contact time because of less teachers.

SCB: What about the actual curriculum, isn’t that a bigger problem?
EJA: Our curriculum must change, the way we teach must change, the learning methods now must change because the pupil is probably smarter than the teacher now. There are so many sources of information.

But more than the change in technologies is the change in the entire outlook of a student and of the world, the entire perspective of the planet. Marami ngayong IT courses which weren’t even necessary before. They are math-intensive and science-intensive, because this internet world is operating on mathematical principles, on scientific principles.

SCB: But with everything that’s needed to be done, which should be done first?
EJA: You cannot do the things needed to improve education sequentially. Time and things move. They’re not going to wait for you while you fill up the classroom backlog or the lack of textbooks. You’ve got to do things simultaneously rather than sequentially.

In 1992, when I started the educational revamp, we were only 65 million. But now we’re 96 million. In one generation we’ve added 50 percent of our population.

SCB: Right now, what are you working on in the education committee?
EJA: Wala (laughs). What I want to do is review it with the educators and educationists.

Let them identify the problems and then we prioritize. We will appeal that we need real money. We have to stop saying that education should have the highest budgetary priority because that is not meant.

The number of out-of-school youths is as large as our school population, it is as big as the 18 to 20 million student population.

We are perpetuating a vicious cycle of illiteracy, because illiterate people will also have illiterate kids. Poor parents will raise poor kids.

SCB: But there’s supposed to be the alternative learning system and the tech-voc system…
EJA: We’re not even serious about the alternative learning system. If you look at just the spending, the budget for alternative learning system is less than one percent of the total education budget.

Kaya naiinins ako dito kay Syjuco (Augusto Syjuco was the former TESDA director general- Ed) because he bastardized TESDA. The concept of tech-voc skills training is that it is the bridge between those who have achieved basic education and those who are either unable or have no inclination to go to college.

That’s a large population.

For every 10 who entered Grade one, only six will graduate from Grade six. Of those six, four would finish high school. Of those four, two will go on to college. What will you do with those eight? They will go back to farming and fishing, or they will go back to plain idleness. ‘Yung dalawa magiging engineer o nurse, pero isa lang ang makakapasa sa licensure exam. ‘Yan ang sitwasyon, ‘yan ang end product of our education. Kung magpapatuloy ‘yan, then you just enlarge the pool of uneducated, miseducated, unemployable and unemployed people. That’s a recipe for civil war. That’s where TESDA must go in. Don’t mimic the university. Parents want their kids to graduate with a college diploma, but those kids just want to be employed.

SCB: So is there anything good about our education system?
EJA: Ang value naman ng Philippine education system, No. 1, we’ve maintained a good literacy rate, nakakasulat at nakakabasa, but that doesn’t translate to functional literacy. Functional literacy is, puwede mong gamitin ang ATM or punta ka sa telepono, babasahin mo, ‘yun ang functional literacy. But generally, ok tayo. We are the most successful expat exporter (laughs). Para mas sosyal naman.

The U.P. year
SCB: Do you miss being in the academe?
EJA: Hindi naman. I like what I’m doing. My theory kasi in life, do your best in whatever you’re doing. Your next job will take care of yourself. Or somebody will take care of your next job. But you must excel in whatever job you’re doing. I think that my principle still works.

SCB: Back in your UP days?
EJA: I said I’m going to be the best in my class. Then nadiskubre ko, ang dami palang mga valedictorian, may mas magagaling pa pala sa akin.

SCB: Pero honor student din kayo?
EJA: Of course. Then I shifted focus. I’m going to be the best leader in my class. Ako ang presidente lagi ng klase ko. When I graduated, I told myself I’m going to be a congressman. The first opportunity was the Constitutional Convention in 1971. Sabi non-partisan and no politicians. They can judge me on my merits. Nung nangampanya na ako, ang haba ng district ko sa Quezon, siguro that’s the longest district. In the course of the campaign, ‘yung mga botante hinihingian ako ng pera. Ayoko nang ganyan sabi ko. I won of course. So I vowed after that, I said I will never get into Philippine politics.

SCB: What age were you then?
EJA: I was 34. Ayoko na, sabi ko. I gave up my ambition to become a congressman, governor or whatever. But I said I’m going to be the best lawyer in town. So talagang nag-concentrate ako. I joined the best law firm then, Ponce-Enrile. But before that I said I’m going to study abroad. So nag-apply ako ng scholarship. University of Michigan, Columbia, Harvard accepted me but walang scholarship. On my own, I could not afford. I came back. After a while, after working with the biggest and the best law office then, Ponce-Enrile- Siguion-Reyna, Ponce-Enrile is the father of Juan. He was the best lawyer.

But after a while, I cannot be just an employee, utusan lang ako. Talagang law office is the best slave labor, talagang the senior partners make money of young lawyers. So I got together with my law classmates, so we formed our own. Ang salary offer namin was the highest. Lahat ng mga valedictorian, mga cum laude. In fairly quick fashion, we built the best law office. Now it’s well-established. But in 1997, President Cory called me, Ed I want someone to represent education in the Senate. So that’s how I got lost. I was going to buy suka, pinatakbo na ako sa Senado (laughs).

SCB: Kung magbubuhat po kayo ng bangko, what was your biggest contribution to UP?
EJA: I think I made everyone proud to be part of UP, whether a student, teacher or plain staff, especially the alumni. It’s only during my presidency that UP became UAAP champion (laughs). Hindi ba laging kulelat tayo?

SCB: Are you frustrated now that in this season, UP had zero win?
EJA: Hindi ko na binabasa. ‘Yang si Benjie Paras at ‘yung partner niya, si Ronnie Magsanoc, may nagsabi sa akin, sir may magaling na pares sa San Beda (College). Sige, kausapin niyo.

SCB: So you were responsible in recruiting them?
EJA: Oo. Ako ang nag-recruit niyan. So first year they joined UP, runner-up na tayo. Then the following year, we beat UE, champion tayo. So I brought luck, apart from improving their perks and welfare, and improving the academics.

SCB: Are you a big basketball fan?
EJA: Noon lang. Pero after that wala na (laughs).

SCB: The search is on for the next president of UP. What kind of president do you think UP needs at this time?
EJA: He must be modernity-oriented, progressive and knowledgeable. The world has completely changed. In the 80s when I became president, it was much simpler although the social melieu, including Martial Law, was more complex so the relationship between administration, students and faculty was quite different.

Now the students have more access to knowledge than the teacher. And if you’re not up to your toes as a teacher, baka hindi ka siputin ng mga estudyante mo. Baka sumipot lang out of sheer takot kasi sisingkuhin ka niya. But the level of effort and knowledge you must possess must be much, much higher as a teacher. Eh lalo na kung presidente ka. To be respected by faculty and students, you must be highly knowledgeable, abreast of trends in science and technology, in the arts. You must be a really progressive thinker.

SCB: Does he have to be young?
EJA: Must be. Kung hindi makukuba siya (laughs).

Growing up in Baler
SCB: How often do you go home to Baler?
EJA: Almost every month. Kasi mahilig ako sa farm. I have several projects there. I have mari-culture, that’s fishpond at sea, not on land. Ang advantage is you don’t destroy mangroves and you don’t use much fresh water.

SCB: You spent your younger years there? How was it growing up in Baler?
EJA: Bucolic, rural. Pero even then, curious ako. Nung dumating ang mga Amerikano, marami silang dinadala including magazines. Kinukuha ko ‘yung mga subscription cards, pinapadala ko ‘yan at nagugulat ako bumabalik sa akin.

SCB: Ever tried surfing in Baler?
EJA: That’s the birthplace of surfing. ‘Yung mga national champion ata ng surfing are from Baler. All my kids surf, even my grandson. We just live across the sea, by the beach. Mahilig akong mag-swimming. Pinapagalitan ako ng nanay ko, uuwi ako basang-basa ako. Nagbulakbol ka na naman? Hindi, naligo lang ako sa dagat.

SCB: What are your fond memories of Baler?
EJA: Basta memory na lang, huwag nang fond (laughs). Growing up there, you’ve got to be creative and inventive. I like to read. So lahat ng dinadala dun, binabasa ko. I read everything. Basta mababasa, binabasa ko ‘yan. Wala kaming lights nun so we read by candlelight or kerosene lamp. Because we had no toys I had to make my own toys. Ang paborito ko ‘yung wax. Hihingi ako ng mga kandila, tutunawin ko, at gagawa ako ng jeep, ng mga truck, ng mga sundalo.

SCB: Are your children also into farming?
EJA: Wala nga eh. Ang pag-asa ko lang ‘yung apo kong lalaki; he’s only six years old. My children are more artistic, cultural and intellectual. My eldest holds three degrees, history of art, interior design and museum curator.

‘Yung second ko si Sonny, congressman siya. Public Administration and Finance degree niya sa Harvard. ‘Yung middle child ko, historian siya at teacher sa International School. ‘Yung third child ko she did Art Studies in the number one arts school in the UK, Central Saint Martins. She graduated summa cum laude, buti na lang nagmana sa nanay niya (laughs). And then my youngest is an economist from London School of Economics.

SCB: How many grandchildren do you have now?
EJA: Dalawa pero I’m expecting two more from my two children.

SCB: Are you a disciplinarian?
EJA: Hindi. Ang mother nila.

SCB: Spoiler?
EJA: Yes (laughs).

SCB: What do you always remind your children to do?
EJA: To work hard and be honest.

SCB: Is this also what you’ve learned from your parents?
EJA: My mother is a hardworking and disciplined person. We’re 10 in the family so ‘yung dining table namin long table talaga. And when you sit down, the food is already portioned. Hati-hati na. Kung hindi ‘pag nilagay mo sa gitna ‘yan at kinuha ng mga matatakaw eh di mauubos na hindi matitirhan ang iba. My mother was a nurse and nutritionist kaya may gatas ka at vegetables sa meals mo, pero portions na.

SCB: But you didn’t experience a hard life?
EJA: Hindi naman. My parents were the first health professionals in Baler. My mother was a nurse, my father, a dentist. During the early American times, they picked the best and the brightest in each town at pinapag-aral nila. Pinapadala sa PGH or Philippine Normal University, pensiyonado pa. So my father was chosen and was sent to PGH. My mother was from Marikina and they met in PGH. But you see, bumalik sila sa Baler. And that time the road to Baler, you have to horseback and hike, nasa Sierra Madre eh. So how tough life then was and yet they went back to serve their community. We were not well-off but not impoverished either. Sampu kami, I’m the sixth.

SCB: Very healthy kayo…
EJA: Because my mother is a nutritionist so talagang kailangan kumain kami ng gulay and every morning you have to drink a glass of warm milk.

Walang cemented road nun so I walked from our house to school and I have to cross a river. My father is a born farmer. I never remembered having lived in town, we always lived outside town. ‘Pag gising niya ng alas singko, kasama na ako nun. I watched my father plant coconuts or fruit trees. I think that’s where I got my liking for farming.

May farm din ako sa Nasugbu, marami akong mga manok doon. Biglang tumilaok yung manok, nagulat yung apo ko, hinabol habol na niya. Since then naging mahilig na siya sa mga farm animals.

His role model
SCB: You still have time to read now?
EJA: Basta non-fiction ako. Mostly biography, mga public affairs.

SCB: Do you have a specific book na talagang favorite niyo?
EJA: I have this book, I picked up sa London School of Economics, I went there kasi. It’s written by an Economics professor, “Culture and Development.’’ That’s where I got ideas. It matches my experience.

Faith and trust are very important because then I can accept your word. That means business can go on normally. Culture is also important in development.

But the most important aspect of culture that is critical to development is the rule of law. People must respect rules and law, because without that, kanya-kanya. Magiging lawless. And that’s the key to development. Because people trust each other, if you enter into a contract, you know that the other guy is part of the bargain. That’s the ultimate in development and culture.

That’s why I keep going back to it.

The second book I keep going back to, it’s about science and the trends in science and technology, very impressive book, highly readable. There are key technologies that will create wealth and jobs and increase incomes. One is information technology which is already existing, the BPOs and call centers, that’s IT.

Another is biotechnology. It is the art of combining change and causing change whether in plants or in materials. So it’s very important in finding drugs in plants, finding medicine even among marine products. That’s why six percent of the global gross income of the world is from biotechnology. Countries who excel in biotechnology are the ones who produce new drugs, food items. Tignan mo ang India ang galing sa pharma niyan.

The third technology is neurotechnology, study of the mind, the brain and the mental processes. Tama naman. New medicines now can prolong life and ancient diseases that have no cure like cancer, Alzheimer’s, these are being solved now through stem cell therapy study. That’s going to prolong life and make even longer lives healthy lives. You can now expect to live to a hundred.

The fourth technology is nano technology, the principle of the smallest atom levels. That’s now applied in new materials, in chips. Maraming application ‘yan, medicine, construction, aviation and weaponry.

Those are the four technologies that in the next decades will be creating more jobs. ‘Yung Yahoo, Google, Facebook. Some of their creators are even drop-outs. Si Bill Gates.

SCB: Sir, do you have Facebook?
EJA: Oo.

SCB: Are you the one who operates it?
EJA: Ah hindi.

SCB: What gadgets do you have?
EJA: Wala nga eh. I’m mechanically illiterate.

SCB: Aside from reading, what else do you do during your free time?
EJA: Going to the farm to plant trees.

SCB: You mentioned that there are less and less role models now. Who were your own role models?
EJA: Manuel Quezon. He was a nation builder, a visionary. Simple example lang. When nobody was thinking of a new capital Quezon already thought of a new capital, Quezon City. He had all the plans laid out. He even recruited a topnotch American urban planner to plan Quezon City. If that was followed, we would have one of the best capitals, well-planned, a la Washington DC. Talagang ang ganda ganda ng development. ‘Yung circle then government agencies, then residential area around it. And the university is there. So he had foresight.

Even in Baler may foresight siya. Baler is small and the town plan was circa Spanish colonial period. I was able to get that original Spanish plan from Spain. And the usual Spanish plan is the town center was occupied by the church and the municipio.

From there spread na. But Quezon said no, Baler would have to grow and expand so he set aside a place for reserva, reservoir. Tama nga. The expansion of Baler was toward the reserve.

But his greatest legacy talaga is the language. Language really united us. At the time he introduced it there was so much resentment from English groups especially the Cebuanos. But now 98 percent of Filipinos speak and understand each other in Filipino.

SCB: Sir so dapat sa Miss Universe, Tagalog din ang salita?
EJA: May translator, parang Hapon o Chinese.

Forever optimistic
SCB: The victory of President Noynoy brought so much hope especially to the young ones. Do you still have hope for the Philippines, considering that you have gone through so many administrations?
EJA: Oo. That’s why I think all my laws are optimistic eh. It’s redemptive. It will not be optimistic if you don’t look into the future, if you just celebrate the past history, heroes. I’ve never done that eh. It’s always looking into the future that’s why my legislative agenda revolves around the youth and education.

And I need a healthy nation. I’m conscious of my past. I’m very close to the soil. That’s why I have legislations on that.

SCB: How do you keep yourself optimistic considering that all the facts seem depressing?
EJA: Kung hindi ako optimistic, wala na ako sa bansang ito, ayoko na. Maybe in some socio-political environment, I may become prime minister or president because of my command of principles. I’m very optimistic about the Philippines and I don’t want to abandon my country. I’m frustrated because people keep on insisting on electing mga bulok, people you expect to be more intelligent. ‘Yun ang frustration ko.

SCB: But what do you think would make you break?
EJA: At this late stage of my life, nothing na siguro could break me. I’ve weathered all kinds of problems because I like to solve problems. I’m not part of the problem, but when I see the problem, something that has to be solved, my orientation is find the solution.

SCB: What do you think about your colleagues fighting in the Senate?
EJA: I just ignore them. You know from day one of my senatorial career, I seldom stand up and deliver any privilege speech or attack anyone. Because nadi-distract lang ako to develop negative vibes. I just want to be positive. I want to communicate optimism and energy to people. That’s why I think, all of the undertakings I’ve handled are relatively successful. There’s no organization that I headed that was not successful. There’s UP, Integrated Bar of the Philippines, or the Senate. In all these positions, I’ve been successful.

SCB: Is politics worth giving up your private practice?
EJA: Yeah because I’m a policy studies-oriented guy. As I said, there’s no other job in the world where you can translate your ideals into policies, into laws than in politics.

SCB: Pag wala na po kayo sa politics and when you’ve retired and in your farm, how do you want to be remembered?
EJA: That I made the lives of ordinary Filipinos a little bit better than most, that my contribution is measurable and not just rhetorical.