FOREIGN DIGNITARIES RECOGNIZE ANGARA'S LEGACY

Former Senator Edgardo J. Angara was lauded anew for his lasting contributions to Philippine society by Spanish officials, on the day the lawmaker officially ended his term.

During the commemorative program of the recent 11th anniversary of Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day in Baler, Aurora, Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines, Jorge Domecq read official communications to Angara from Honourable Jose Posada Moreno, President of the Congress of Deputies of Spain and Honourable Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo y Marfil, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.

Both letters recognized Angara's authorship of the law establishing Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day (RA 9187), on top of his comprehensive legislative work including such landmark laws as the Free High School Act, Senior Citizens Act, National Health Insurance Act, Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA), and the Renewable Energy Act, among others.

Moreno wrote that Philippine culture bears witness to Angara's untiring efforts in the recovery of history and cultural heritage, underscoring that RA 9187 has highlighted the common heritage between the Philippines and Spain as well as geared relations between the two nations towards "a future replete with challenges which we will jointly and wisely face."

Garcia Margallo on the other hand emphasized that Angara's fathering of RA 9187 has allowed Philippine-Spanish relations to progress "in the last three decades to a degree of empathy and symbiosis hard to envisage beforehand."

The Spanish Foreign Affairs minister also highlighted that Angara's "untiring work" has been recognized with the conferment of various local and foreign decorations, including being elected as Chairman of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), earlier this year.

For his part, Ambassador Domecq himself commended Angara "for the long years you have spent in the service of your beloved country and with such brilliance, expertise and dedication."

The commemorative program of Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day last June 30 coincided with the official end of Angara's fourth consecutive term as Senator and some three decades worth of government service.

In his message during the program, Angara said, "I wave goodbye to government, but I will continue to work for the betterment of our society to the best of my abilities. Today may mark the end of my government service, but not my commitment to serving the public."