When former President Ramon Magsaysay flew to Cebu and never came back to Manila,

the whole nation was devastated and did not want to believe the news. Four years after, the

people were still hoping that the news about his death was a hoax. Quijano de Manila wrote in

detail the incident that has happened. This discussion paper provides an analysis of Quijano De

Manila’s “The Death of the Guy” as a primary source.

Overview

On March 16, 1957, Ramon Magsaysay was invited to go to Cebu. As the plane arrived,

he began his ten-hour long tour of the city. He went to many places, visited a lot of people, it was

past midnight when he had finished his schedule. 17th of March 1957, the Mount Pinatubo took

off for manila with 26 passengers aboard. According to the investigation, due to ‘metal fatigue’,

the plane had lost its altitude and crashed against a 50 feet tall tree located in Mount Manunggal.

Only one survived the accident, but sadly it wasn’t the president. Four years after the incident,

the people still haven’t lost their hope that Ramon Magsaysay was already dead, but rather just

hiding and would return to guide them again.

Analysis of Primary Source

Context. The primary source revealed the true story behind the death of the former

President Ramon Magsaysay. It serves as an instrument to enlighten our nation on the true story

behind his tragedy and to testify that he is a loving person to his family and also to his fellow

countrymen. Quijano De Manila, also known as, Nick Joaquin is a Filipino novelist, poet,

playwright, essayist, and biographer.

 Perspective. The text was written from the point of view of Quijano De Manila. He said

that the death of Ramon Magsaysay was not his end, but a transfiguration from being a folk hero

to folk myth.

Subjectivity. The text was written to tell in detail the before, during, and after of Ramon

Magsaysay’s death. How the whole nation, especially, his family mourned for him. The People

did not want to believe that their guy was dead, instead he was merely hiding himself for a while,

but would eventually come down from the mountain to lead his people.

References

Manila, Q. D. (2013, January 24). The death of The Guy, March 18, 1961. Retrieved

from https://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/1961/03/18/the-death-of-the-guy-march-18-

1961/

PTV. (2015, August 27). Xiao Time: Ang Kampeon Ng Common Tao: Ramon

Magsaysay. Retrieved October 7, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qoini3PYvaI

(2017, March 22). Ramon Magsaysay | History. Retrieved October 7, 2018, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yHBym54_ds

Britannica, T. E. (2018, May 02). Nick Joaquin. Retrieved October 7, 2018, from

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nick-Joaquin