Who was Ramon Magsaysay ?

hough most Philippine political leaders were of Spanish descent, Magsaysay was of Malay stock, like most of the common people.

Eventually, the Huk rebels were tracked down and their members surrendered one by one, culminating to Luis Taruc’s arrest on May 17, 1954. All of these were achieved through the newly revamped AFP and Magsaysay’s social reforms, namely the legal assistance program for the peasants and the Economic Development Corps (EDCOR), a rehabilitation program that gave surrendered Huks an opportunity to have their own house and land.

Magsaysay became the voice of the voiceless, and his impressive rural development programs only proved that he’s sincere in uplifting the lives of the oppressed.

Magsaysay’s military and social reforms were so effective that the Communist Party leader Jesus Lava himself admitted that many Huk soldiers left the insurgency group “because repression was ending.”

Working his way through José Rizal College near Manila, he obtained a commercial degree in 1933 and became general manager of a Manila transportation company.

He improved the land tenure system through the Agricultural Tenancy Act in 1954, which gave tenants the “freedom to choose the system of tenancy under which they would want to work,” and the Land Reform Act of 1955, which was passed to enhance landlord-tenant relations.

President Elpidio Quirino appointed Magsaysay secretary of defense to deal with the threat of the Huks, whose leader, Luis Taruc, in February 1950 established a People’s Liberation Army

When Magsaysay ran for president, the barrio-to-barrio campaigns only opened his eyes even more to the issues of the rural folk that had been neglected by previous presidents.

Magsaysay believed that insurgency would continue to exist as long as the government stays deaf to the calls of the rural folk. “To be really secure,” he once said, “a country must assure for its citizens the social and economic conditions that would enable them to live in decency, free from ignorance, disease, and want.”

Magsaysay became the voice of the voiceless, and his impressive rural development programs only proved that he’s sincere in uplifting the lives of the oppressed.

the overthrow of the government. Magsaysay then carried out until 1953 one of the most successful antiguerrilla campaigns in modern history. Realizing that the Huks could not survive without popular support, he strove to win the trust of the peasants by offering land and tools to those who came over to the government side and by insisting that army units treat the people with respect.

Public lands were also distributed to qualified settlers: A total of 28,000 land patents, covering 241,000 hectares, were issued during the first year of Magsaysay Administration alone. By 1955, an impressive 23,578 agricultural lots were distributed to landless applicants. In the same year, a total of 8,800 families were also resettled by the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA) in 22 settlement projects.

Magsaysay also initiated an intensive community development through the Presidential Assistant for Community Development (PACD). The said agency helped build roads and other facilities for the rural folk as well as improved both the medical and educational services in the barrios.

Reforming the army, he dismissed corrupt and incompetent officers and emphasized mobility and flexibility in combat operations against the guerrillas. By 1953 the Huks were no longer a serious threat, but Magsaysay’s radical measures had made many enemies for him within the government, compelling him to resign on February 28, when he charged the Quirino administration with corruption and incompetence.

President Ramon Magsaysay was genuinely pro-Filipino. For instance, he wore the traditional barong tagalog during his inauguration. He also used the Ilokano wine called basi to exchange toasts with foreign diplomats, and took every chance he could get to promote local products.

For the Filipino people, however, Magsaysay’s most memorable achievement was his effort to earn back people’s trust in the government. Known as the “The Champion of the Common Man,” Magsaysay would listen to the problems of the common “tao” for at least two to three times a week. In fact, he established the Presidential Complaints and Action Committee (PCAC) to make sure that the complaints of the masses were taken care of.

Although Magsaysay was a Liberal, the Nacionalista Party successfully backed him for the presidency against Quirino in the 1953 elections, winning the support of Carlos P. Romulo, who had organized a third party.

Wanting to prove that his government was really for the people, Magsaysay also opened the doors of the Malacañang Palace to all its citizens–and he meant it quite literally. Soon, the masses began swarming the official residence, transforming the lawns into picnic grounds. So many people flocked to Malacañang during the Magsaysay era that some began to describe it as a “miniature Divisoria,” a combination of market and cockpit.

Magsaysay’s upbringing holds the answer on why he turned out to be a man of principle. Born in Iba, Zambales to a blacksmith and a schoolteacher, the young Ramon Magsaysay was trained to respect the elders and develop the virtues of humility, honesty, frugality, and love for hard work.

Magsaysay promised reform in every segment of Philippine life, but he was frustrated in his efforts by a conservative congress that represented the interests of the wealthy.

It is said that when he was only six years old, Magsaysay’s father, Exequiel, lost his job in a public school after refusing to pass the school superintendent’s son in his carpentry class. For this reason, the Magsaysays were forced to move to Castillejas, where Exequiel built a small blacksmith shop to support his family.

Despite initial support of Congress in July 1955, Magsaysay was unable to pass effective land-reform legislation; government indifference to the plight of the peasants then undid most of his good work in gaining the support of the people against the Huks. Nevertheless, he remained extremely popular and had a well-deserved reputation for incorruptibility.

President Magsaysay was so loved by the masses because he didn’t think highly of himself. He earned people’s trust because of his humility and sincerity to address the needs of the ordinary citizens.

Despite initial support of Congress in July 1955, Magsaysay was unable to pass effective land-reform legislation; government indifference to the plight of the peasants then undid most of his good work in gaining the support of the people against the Huks. Nevertheless, he remained extremely popular and had a well-deserved reputation for incorruptibility.

Unlike other politicians, Magsaysay refused to name towns, bridges, avenues, and plazas after him. He lived in a simple home, wore simple clothes (usually an “aloha” shirt and slacks), drove his own car, and spoke a language easily understood by the masses. Indeed, the late President Ramon Magsaysay was the epitome of simplicity.