Education Secretary Sonny Angara pushed back against ‘baseless and unfounded’ claims that dragged his late father, former Senate President Edgardo Angara, into a supposed network accused of facilitating budget insertions for kickbacks and described by an anonymous source as the ‘Angara 5.’
The allegation stitched together names from different roles, agencies, and timelines, attempting to place Department of Information and Communication Technology Usec. Faye Condez De Sagon, former DepEd Usec. Trygve Olaivar, former Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, DBM Usec. Wilford Wong, and Ronald Ang into a single supposed group.
Of the five, only Olaivar ever worked under Sonny Angara, a detail that underscores the lack of any coherent link among those being associated with the alleged scheme.
The speculation stretches further by trying to trace this supposed network back to the time of the late senator.
Throughout his long Senate tenure, Edgardo Angara had a wide roster of staff, including individuals who later assumed senior government positions such as his former chief of staff Vince Dizon, now Department of Public Works and Highways secretary.
The attempt to retroactively assemble a ‘network’ out of decades of unrelated public service careers raised more questions than answers.
Angara addressed the matter in a statement on X, saying in mixed Filipino and English: ‘We can take demolition jobs that are part of being in politics, but let’s not drag people who are long gone. They can’t answer anymore.’
As of this writing, no official documents, evidence, or complaints have been presented to substantiate the claim or link any of the individuals named to the alleged scheme.