Press Release
March 17, 2012

ANGARA APPOINTED MEMBER OF SPAIN'S ROYAL ACADEMY

Senator Edgardo J. Angara has been elected Corresponding Academic Member of the prestigious Real Academia Hispano Americana De Ciencias, Artes Y Letras (Hispano-American Royal Academy of Science, Arts and Letters) in Cadiz, Spain, the first Asian to be accorded such honor.

Founded in 1909 with King Juan Carlos I as Honorary President, the Royal Academy promotes cultural ties between Spain and Hispanic nations in Latin America.

"This is a great honor not only for myself, but also for our country and I thank the Royal Academy for the incomparable opportunity to be a member of their academic community," said Angara.

"The Royal Academy is one of Spain's leading institutions on the humanities endowed with the unique role of promoting linkages with Hispanic nations in America. Now it is reaching out to Asia, primarily through the Philippines.

"We share a common heritage and a common goal--to once again become partners in economic, social and academic development," he stressed.

Angara was nominated and appointed for his remarkable contributions in revitalizing and strengthening the Philippines' relations with Spain, Mexico and other Ibero-American nations with which it shares common history and heritage, through such initiatives as the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day and the UNESCO-supported international Dia del Galeon celebration.

He was also cited as an outstanding academic and intellectual, having served as the President of the University of the Philippines, and for being a strong advocate of the development of education, culture and the arts.

Ms. Alicia Castellanos Escudier, Treasurer and Member of the Royal Academy's Board of Governors, said the Board approved the appointment of Angara as Corresponding Member from Manila in February.

The Royal Academy currently has Corresponding Academic Members from Spain, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Czech Republic and the United States.

In line with his appointment, Angara will deliver an inaugural academic speech before the Royal Academy. Among his responsibilities will be to sit as a member of the committees overseeing the publishing of the Royal Academy's books and other publications.

Angara was previously awarded Spain's Premio Casa Asia in 2010, making him the first Southeast Asian to win the foreign policy prize. He is also the official representative of the Philippines to the Unión Latina, an organization consisting of 37 member-nations of the neo-Latin languages.

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