Who is Senator and DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara?

Senator and DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara, whose full name is Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Manalang Angara, was born on July 15, 1972. He has been a Filipino politician and lawyer, serving as a Senator since 2013. Additionally, he is the chairman of Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the organization responsible for overseeing basketball in the Philippines. President Bongbong Marcos has appointed Angara to be the next Secretary of Education, succeeding Vice President Sara Duterte, who resigned from the position on June 19, 2024. Angara is scheduled to assume office on July 19.

Angara previously represented Aurora's lone district from 2004 to 2013.

Born on July 15, 1972, in Manila, Angara is the son of Edgardo Angara, a lawyer and former Senate President, and Gloria Manalang-Angara, a teacher who later chaired the Cultural Center of the Philippines. He completed his basic education at Xavier School in San Juan, Metro Manila, then went on to Douai School in the UK. He graduated with honors in International Relations from the London School of Economics. He obtained his law degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law and earned a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Angara's professional experience includes working as a trainee at Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (Metrobank) in Makati in 1991, and as a news reporter for The Philippine Star in 1992. In 1994, he was an apprentice and member of the delegation at the Philippine Mission to the United Nations in New York. From 2001 to 2003, he worked as an associate attorney at the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala and Cruz (ACCRA) law firm. He has also taught law at New Era University (NEU) College of Law and at Centro Escolar University (CEU) School of Law and Jurisprudence.