Ramon Magsaysay

Former President of the Philippines

SHORT LIFE STORY

Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay was born in Iba, Zambales, Philippine Islands, on
August 31, 1907 to Exequiel Magsaysay y de los Santos, a blacksmith, and Perfecta
del Fierro y Quimson, a schoolteacher.
He attended high school at Zambales Academy in San Narciso, Zambales and entered
the University of the Philippines in 1927, to study a pre-medical course.
From 1928 to 1932, he studied at the Institute of Commerce at José Rizal College,
where he received a baccalaureate in commerce.
Ramsaysay worked as an automobile mechanic in a bus company in Florida and shop
superintendent to support himself.
He married Luz Magsaysay On June 16, 1933 and they had three children - Teresita
Banzon-Magsaysay, Milagros Banzon-Magsaysay, and Ramon Banzon-Magsaysay, Jr.

Ramon Magsaysay was the seventh president of the Philippines. He is best known for
defeating the communist-led Hukbalahap (HUK) movement and restoring law and order
during his stint as the secretary of defense of the Philippines
On March 16, 1957, while coming back from Cebu City to Manila, Magsaysay died
when the presidential plane crashed on Mt. Manunggal in Cebu.

WORK AND CONTRIBUTION

 After the World War II broke out, he joined the motor pool of the 31st Infantry
Division of the Philippines Army.
 In 1942, he had to stay in hiding from the Japanese forces. During this time, he
organized the Western Luzon Guerrilla Forces, and was elected captain on April
5, 1942.
 He acted as a supply officer in Col. Merrill's famed guerrilla outfit and later as
commander of a 10,000 strong force. Magsaysay was among those active in
clearing the Zambales coast of the Japanese before the landing of American
forces in 1945.
 On April 22, 1946, Magsaysay was elected to the Philippine House of
Representatives under the banner of the Liberal Party.
 In 1948, he was chosen as chairman of the Committee on guerrilla affairs. He
went to Washington to ensure that the Philippine veterans are granted rights in
the Rogers Veterans Bill.
 In the 1949 election, he was re-elected to a second term in the House of
Representatives as the Chairman of the House National Defense Committee.
 During the rise of communist guerrillas, Ramon Magsaysay offered President
Elpidio Quirino a plan to fight against them so the former appointed him the
Secretary of National Defence on August 31, 1950.
 In June 1952, Magsaysay made a goodwill tour to Washington, D.C. , New York,
and Mexico.
 On February 28 1953, he resigned as defense secretary and decided to run for the
seat of the president under the Nacionalista Party.

IMPORTANT LEGACY

 During Magsaysay’s administration, Philippines became Asia’s second cleanest

and well-governed country. His tenure is often referred to as the Philippines'
Golden Years.
 Magsaysay’s Presidential Complaints and Action Committee heard nearly
60,000 complaints in a year, and settled more than 30,000 through direct action
and a little more than 25,000 through government agencies.
 Magsaysay established the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation
Administration (NARRA) which granted about sixty-five thousand acres to
three thousand poor families for settlement purposes.
 He also established the Agricultural Credit and Cooperative Financing
Administration (ACCFA) to make available rural credits of almost ten million
dollars.
 Magsaysay initiated the formation of Liberty Wells Association that managed
to raise a considerable sum for the construction of artesian wells for the
development of agrarian sector.
 March 17, 1958 Ramon Magsaysay was awarded the Golden Heart Presidential
Award posthumously.
 He received the Order of the White Elephant (April 1955) from the government
of Thailand and the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Cambodia (January
1956) from the government of Cambodia.
 The Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award, established in April 1957 by
the trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund to continue Ramon Magsaysay's
exemplary integrity in governance, brave service to the nation, and realistic
idealism in a democratic society.