THE SON(NY) ALSO RISES

The above title is no play of words. Neither is pun intended. Truly, Congressman Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara is fast rising, following in the footsteps but not necessarily mimicking or imitating his illustrious father, Senator Edgardo J. Angara.

Congressman Sonny has been of late, pushed into the spotlight, first because of the Pulse Asia survey which ranked him among the top 12 Senatoriables in the coming 2013 elections and secondly, because of his uncanny role as one of the spokespersons of the House panel in the Coronavela involving the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

The young lawmaker, although owing tons of gratitude to his surname, has been gradually moving out of the shadows of the senator, catching the discriminating public eye because of his quotable quotes and making a good account of his self in media interviews.

For someone who is a product of Harvard and the prestigious London School of Economics, the congressman’s phenomenal rise in the ranks of senatoriables is not stunning or earth-shaking surprising if you ask me. He is considered one of the brilliant minds in the august halls of the House of Representatives, one who can articulate and explain in layman’s terms legal issues which other lawmakers could not adequately explain.

I was told that the truly gifted lawmaker is not one who can play to the gallery or grandstand in the plenary during the session but someone who can engage in a truly intellectual discussion of issues during committee hearings. One can always engage in sound-bytes for publicity and pa-pogi points but in the committee hearings, that guy will instantly transform into a member, if not chairman, of the committee on silence for lack of ideas to churn out during panel discussions.

I was also told that two of the incumbent senators used to play to the gallery when they were still congressmen but during committee hearings, they groped for explanations, prompting Cong Sonny to butt in a number of times and explained to them the intricacies of the subject matter that was being discussed.

‘Yan si Cong Sonny, simple lang pero astig. Ganyan ang mga taga-Aurora, matatalino at magagaling.

Back to the recent Pulse Asia survey, considering that the elections are two years away and given that those up the ladder of the senatorial survey are veteran legislators and prominent government officials, Cong Sonny is no doubt up there with the best and the brightest.

Consider this: those in the surveys are Senators Francis Escudero and Loren Legarda, Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas II, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, ex-Vice President Noli de Castro, San Juan City Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Sen. Gregorio Honasan, Rep. Juan Ponce Enrile Jr., Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Sen. Antonio Trillanes, ex-senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, Congressman Angara, and ex-senators Jamby Madrigal and Richard Gordon.

No less ecstatic about Sonny’s emergence as a senatoriable is his own father who said that the Senate needs people who can articulate, interpolate and argue intellectually on any issue under the sun in the Senate.

“The Senate needs fresh blood now and someone brimming with intelligence. Now, we have non-performing senators na ‘di mo man lang makadebate,” says the senator.

Sounds arrogant but true and nothing but. We need not name names to argue our point.

Truly, Cong Sonny will be a refreshing face in the Senate. We Aurorans should keep our fingers crossed that he ends up victorious so that we will continue to have a voice in that august chamber immortalized by the men and women of our times.

As Congressman, Sonny Angara assures the public that he is independent from his father in his performance of duty particularly where decision making is called for. This is a strong manifestation that Cong. Angara is not working under the shadow of his father but rather working independently and pursuing his own program and agenda as a law maker. (Jason de Asis)