Tuesday, April 17, 2007 Angara vows automatic Philhealth coverage for elderly
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Reelectionist Senator Edgardo Angara said he will look into giving senior citizens automatic coverage of the state's health insurance firm, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth).
Angara, who is running under the administration's Team Unity, was the guest during Saturday's edition of "Talakayan", a public service program aired over DWRW 95.1 FM.
Interviewed by Deng Pangilinan and Boy Santiago, Angara said there is a need to widen the coverage of Philhealth, which was established through the National Health Insurance Act, which he sponsored in the Senate.
Angara said he got the idea during his sorties where elderly air their concerns and ideas to the senator.
At the same time, Angara said children may also get automatic Philhealth coverage but stressed that the request for the state firm to shoulder all hospital expenses of its members cannot be immediately implemented due to financial constraints.
Angara began his political career when he was elected as one of the youngest delegates to the 1971 Constitutional Convention.
A year later he founded what would become one of the country's top law firms known by the initials ACCRA. Honing his skills while practicing, Angara was eventually elected as president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (ISP) in 1979, an indication of his rise to prominence in the legal profession.
In recognition of his internationalist views and pragmatism, he was chosen in 1980 as founding president of the Asean Law Association, an organization that seeks to harmonize laws in the region and promote a common focus on key issues and policies.
But it was his tenure as president of the University of the Philippines (UP) from 1981-1987 where he made his mark after gaining the respect of students and faculty for his professionalism and determination to make the state university attain its true status as the premiere educational center in the country.
He rallied alumni in the country and abroad to pool their resources for various projects to mark UP's diamond jubilee in 1983, including the creation of additional professorial chairs and faculty grants. Through his efforts, the liberal arts curriculum was strengthened, a seven-year honors medical curriculum installed, humanities and science were energized, and a multi-campus university organization was instituted.
In essence, the whole UP system was reorganized to make it more efficient and attuned to the changing times.
He defended the state university's tradition of dissent and fiscal autonomy, while maintaining its reputation for academic excellence. He established stronger links with the business community and alumni organizations, raising the biggest faculty endowment in the university. It came as no surprise then that despite being a political neophyte in the 1987 senatorial elections, he placed in the top five.
By this time, he had established a reputation as a resolute reformer and firm leader, winning praise for his non-confrontational stance on contentious domestic and international issues, while building consensus at the same time.
The same reputation enabled him as Senate President (1993-1995) and as a senator (1987-1998, 2001-present) to get through the legislative gridlock that stood between the legislative and executive branches of government. He made a difference in the lives of others by pushing for the passage of laws on arts and culture, agriculture, education, good governance, health and social welfare.
As chairman of the House education committee, Angara sponsored laws that resulted in the creation of the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) and the Technical Education and Skill Development Authority (Tesda), both of which enabled the Department of Education (DepEd) to focus on its main concern -- basic education.
Champion legislator
Angara sponsored the Free High School Act, which ensured secondary education even for the poorest; the Senior Citizens Act (or The Angara Law), which allowed the elderly to avail of substantial discounts when buying medicine or riding public transport; the National Health Insurance Act or Philhealth, which provided insurance to every citizen; and the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (Gastpe), which is the biggest scholarship program.
Under his Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (Afma), farmers and fisher folks benefited from improved seeds and plant materials, better irrigation, better financing and market access.
He authored the Magna Carta for public health workers and was the principal author of the laws that created the new National Museum and the National Commission on Culture and the Arts.
As secretary of agriculture (1999-2001), he had the opportunity to implement his own creation, Afna.
He oversaw an improvement of food production programs and support services that led to a bigger harvest of rice, a development that underscored the drive to attain self-sufficiency. Overall, the agricultural sector saw a growth rate of three percent since 2000, compared with a 1.2 percent growth over the past two decades.
He served as executive secretary (2001), albeit briefly, during the term of former President Joseph Estrada, and oversaw the peaceful transition of power after the second people power revolution.
As Philippine National Bank chairman (1998-1999), he made the bank a major player in the domestic financial market.
Upon assuming the leadership of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) Party, the dominant opposition party, he began to quietly transform the party into formidable institution bent on effecting change in the political and economic infrastructure of the country, like decentralizing the National Government and removing barriers that hinder the entry of foreign investment.
Today, he is overseeing a number of important legislative measures, like the Bio-fuels Act, which aims to lessen dependence on imported oil and promote increased usage of renewable energy, and the Political Party Development and Campaign Finance Reform Act, which seeks to make political parties ideology-based organizations and true instruments of change.
A recipient of the Commandeur dans I'ordre des Palmes citation from France, Angara was also the director of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption in 2002.
As a further testament to his international experience, he was elected last year as charter president of the Southeast Asia Parliamentarians Against Corruption. Not coincidentally, Angara was the author of the Procurement Reform Act, the biggest anti-corruption law in Philippine history, as well as the father of the Ombudsman Law.
It has not been easy scaling the ladder of corporate law, the academe and politics and becoming one of the country's top public leaders, but Angara has impressed his peers.
Angara is married to Gloria Manalang, past chairperson of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and has four children. His son, Juan Edgardo, represents his home province of Aurora, while daughter Anna is a trained museum curator. Another daughter, Katerina, is completing her arts studies, while the youngest, Alexandra, is graduating with an economics degree from the London School of Economics in the UK. (ABL)
