ALMOST half or 11 of the incoming senators of the 16th Congress took up either political science or economics in college. Too, nearly half took their undergraduate studies at the University of the Philippines.
Fifteen of the 24 senators of the 16th Congress had pursued postgraduate studies.
Senators Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., Alan Peter Cayetano, Francis Joseph ‘Chiz’ Escudero, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Grace Poe-Llamanzares, and Joseph Victor ‘JV’ Ejercito were all political science majors.
Senators Gregorio ‘Gringo’ Honasan II, Juan Edgardo ‘Sonny’ Angara, Pilar Juliana ‘Pia’ Cayetano, Teofisto ‘TG’ Guingona III, and Jose ‘Jinggoy’ Estrada took up economics.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Franklin Drilon earned degrees in the arts, while Senators Cynthia Villar, Ralph Recto, and Paolo Benigno ‘Bam’ Aquino IV studied business administration, commerce, and management engineering, respectively.
Senator Lorna Regina ‘Loren’ Legarda took up broadcast communication while Senator Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III majored in English.
Senators Antonio ‘Sonny’ Trillanes IV and Ma. Lourdes Nancy Binay-Angeles, meanwhile, earned degrees in engineering and tourism, respectively.
Senators Sergio ‘Serge’ Osmena III took up various courses, but did not finish. Senators Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr. and Manuel ‘Lito’ Lapid did not obtain college degrees as well.
Nearly half or 10 of the 24 senators were Iskolar ng Bayan, or graduates of the University of the Philippines with a bachelor’s degree. They are Binay, Alan and Pia Cayetano, Drilon, Escudero, Estrada, Honasan, Legarda, Villar, and Santiago. Poe also took up Development Studies for two years at UP Manila.
Four senators — Aquino, Enrile, Guingona, and Pimentel — earned their undergraduate degrees from the Ateneo de Manila University.
Ejercito and Recto earned their college degree from De La Salle University (DLSU).
Trillanes also studied at DLSU but obtained his engineering degree at the Philippine Military Academy. Sotto, meanwhile, studied at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Manila.
Angara, Marcos, and Poe studied abroad at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Oxford University, and Boston College, respectively.
Check out what the senators of the 16th Congress took up in college on PCIJ’s MoneyPolitics Online.