Republic of the Philippines

DAVAO DE ORO STATE COLLEGE

Compostela, Davao de Oro

Bachelor of Elementary Education

www.cvsc.edu.ph | beed.montevista@ddosc.edu.ph

A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF RAMON MAGSAYSAY’S HISTORICAL

CONTRIBUTION
_______________________________

A Historical Figure Research

Presented to
REY JOHN B. REBUCAS, LPT, MAEE
Davao De Oro State College
Montevista, Davao de Oro, 8801

_______________________________

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

EEd 6: Teaching Social Studies in Primary Grades
(History and Government)

_______________________________

LOVER ALAMIS
SWEETHZIEL BOBOROL
FHIA MAE NARAGA CAÑEZO
LAIZA GRACE BRIT ELENTORIO
JENALYN TAMPIPI EMIA
CHRISTENE JOY CUDADA MACADAGAT
ROBERT MERL DELA CERNA MALACOS
ALEXA JEAN PODADERA
JOSHUA SUELLO TIBAY

April 12, 2024

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Title Page i

Table of Contents ii

Acknowledgement iii

CHAPTER

1 BIOGRAPHY OF MAGSAYSAY 1

2 REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES/LITERATURES 3

3 ANALYSIS OF THE HISTORICAL 12

CONTRIBUTIONS OF MAGSAYSAY

4 INTERPRETATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 13

5 BIBLIOGRAPHY 15
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We humbly acknowledge the presence and power of our Almighty

God, the creator of the universe and the source of all life.

First and foremost, we are deeply grateful to Ramon Magsaysay as

a true champion of the people, a visionary statesman, and a shining
example of the transformative power of ethical, effective governance. His
contributions to the Philippines and its people will never be forgotten. His
legacy remains a powerful inspiration for those who strive to uphold the
ideals of good governance, social justice, and unwavering dedication to
the Filipino people.

We hope that this research can contribute to the continued

recognition and understanding of his historical significance. We also
extend our gratitude to our professor, Rey John B. Rebucas, LPT, MAEE,
for his invaluable guidance, encouragement, and support throughout this
research work.

Lastly, we would like to thank our group mates and friends for their
unwavering support and motivation throughout this endeavor. Their love
and encouragement have been essential in keeping us focused and
inspired.
4 iii

CHAPTER 1

BIOGRAPHY OF RAMON MAGSAYSAY

Ramon del Fierro “Guy in Khaki” Magsaysay (August 31, 1907 –

March 17, 1957)

Ramon Magsaysay was born on August 31, 1907, in Iba, Zambales

to Exequiel Magsaysay and Perfecta del Fierro, carpenter, blacksmith and

school teacher. He studied at the elementary school in Castillejos where

the family had moved, walked back and forth to the distant Zambales

Academy in San Narciso for his high school course, and took up

engineering at the University of the Philippines in 1927. Working as driver

while studying, Ramon got sick. He transferred later to the Jose Rizal

College and graduated in 1932 with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce

degree (Britannica, 2024).

Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. QSC, MGH (August 31, 1907 –

March 17, 1957) was a Filipino leader who served as the Philippines’

seventh president from December 30, 1953, until his death on March 17,

1957, in an airplane catastrophe .Magsaysay, an automobile technician by

trade, was named army commander of Zambales after a distinguished

career as a rebel leader in the Pacific War. President Elpidio Quirino then

nominated him Secretary of National Defense after he served two years

as a Liberal Party superintendent for Zambales’ at- large district

(Britannica, 2024).
4 iii

In 1945, he and his men captured the powerful Zambales airstrip

from the Japanese and led the American forces in liberating Zambales. He

was appointed military governor of the province on February 4, 1945 by

General Charles P Hall of the 11th Corps and promoted to major on

September 23, 1945 by order of General Douglas MacArthur. He received

his honorable discharge on February 8, 1946. Magsaysay turned politician

when he was elected representative of Zambales on April 23, 1946, and

reelected in 1949. In both terms, he was chairman of the House National

Defense Committee and member of the Appropriations Committee

(DND.Gov.Ph, 2022).

In 1953 the government attempted unsuccessfully to end the Huk

rebellion by a peace parley with the rebel leaders. In the presidential

elections, held on November 10, former Defense Minister Ramón

Magsaysay won a decisive victory over the incumbent Quirino, and

because of his vigorous conduct of the campaign against the Huks, the

back of the rebellion was broken, although it was not entirely suppressed.

He became popularly known as "The Idol of the Masses". Congress

approved, on August 11, 1955, legislation empowering President

Magsaysay to break up large landed estates and distribute the land to

tenant farmers. On September 6, 1955 the Philippines and the United

States concluded a trade agreement on private US investment in

Philippine enterprises. Magsaysay died on March 17, 1957, in an air

crash in Mt. Manunggal, Cebu on March 17, 1957. Magsaysay was

4 iii

married to Luz Banzon of Bataan with whom he had three children:

Teresita, Milagros and Ramon, Jr. (DND.Gov.Ph, 2022).

CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES/LITERATURE

Magsaysay Education

Ramon Magsaysay was born on August 31, 1907, in Iba, Zambales

to Exequiel Magsaysay and Perfecta del Fiero as a school teacher. He
studied at the elementary school in Castillejos where the family had
moved; walked back and forth to the distant Zambales Academy in San
Narciso for his high school course and took up engineering at the
University of the Philippines in 1927. Working as driver while studying,
Ramon got sick. He transferred later to the Jose Rizal College and
graduated in 1932 with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree.
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. Magsaysay worked as an automobile mechanic in a bus
company in Florida and shop superintendent to support himself (Pilipinas
Restrostalgia, 2022).

Magsaysay Political Career

Magsaysay was a Filipino statesman who served as the 7th

President of the Philippines from 1953 until his death in 1957. He is widely

regarded as one of the most popular and effective presidents in Philippine

4 iii

history. He came from a middle-class family and attended the University of

the Philippines, where he earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical

engineering in 1932. During World War II, Magsaysay joined the

resistance movement against the Japanese occupation and became a

guerrilla leader. He was appointed secretary of national defense in 1950

by President Elpidio Quirino, where he gained a reputation for his effective

campaign against the communist Hukbalahap (Huk) rebellion (Britannica,

2024).

During his time as the Philippines’ secretary of defense, he is best

remembered for fighting the communist-led Hukbalahap (HUK ) rebellion

and restoring peace and order. To combat the HUK,he rebuilt the army by

enlisting honest farmers as soldiers and removing corrupt and

unproductive officers. Magsaysay is widely regarded as the leader of the

most effective anti-guerrilla campaign in contemporary history. Ramon

Magsaysay, as President of the Philippines, maintains a close relationship

with the United States and signed the Laurel- Langley Deal, a trade

between the two countries designed to meet the broad economic interests

of Filipinos. He also implemented important land reforms, including as

large- scale irrigation projects and expansion of power plants. During his

reign, trade and commerce expanded, and sports and culture flourished in

the Philippines. Throughout the Cold War, he was an outspoken opponent

of communism. Magsaysay was known for his humility preferring to be

 1 11 11

addressed as Mr. President rather than His Excellency. He was dubbed

the Idol of the Masses after his death

Sadly, Ramon Magsaysay's term came to an abrupt end on March

17, 1957, when his presidential plane crashed, killing Magsaysay and 24

other passengers. An estimated 5 million people attended Magsaysay's

burial on March 31, 1957, and afterward, he was referred to in the

Philippines as the Idol of the Masses. In his honor, the Ramon Magsaysay

Award, considered Asia's Nobel Prize, was established in 1957. In the

spirit of Ramon Magsaysay's leadership, the award recognizes integrity

and courage among individuals and organizations in Asia

(Biography.com Editors, 2021).

Legacy of Magsaysay

Magsaysay was the son of an artisan and grew up in a provincial

town, which likely instilled in him a deep understanding of the needs and

struggles of ordinary people. Despite his humble beginnings, Magsaysay

pursued education and obtained a commercial degree. His experience as

a schoolteacher and later as a general manager of a transportation

company provided him with valuable skills and insights. Magsaysay's

involvement as a guerrilla leader during World War II demonstrated his

courage, leadership, and commitment to his country's cause. This

experience shaped his approach to governance and conflict resolution.

Magsaysay's appointments as military governor of his home province of

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Zambales, and later as secretary of defense under President Quirino,

provided him with the platform to combat the communist-led Hukbalahap

movement. Magsaysay's successful antiguerrilla campaign against the

Huks, characterized by reforms within the army and efforts to win the trust

of peasants, solidified his reputation as a capable and incorruptible leader.

Despite being a Liberal, Magsaysay received backing from the

Nacionalista Party and other influential figures like Carlos P. Romulo,

which bolstered his candidacy for the presidency. Magsaysay's close ties

with the United States and his staunch opposition to communism during

the Cold War influenced his foreign policy decisions, including the

Philippines' membership in the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization.

Magsaysay's popularity among the masses stemmed from his perceived

sincerity, incorruptibility, and efforts to improve the lives of ordinary

Filipinos, despite facing challenges from a conservative congress and

government indifference to issues like land reform. These factors

collectively shaped Magsaysay's leadership style and priorities during his

presidency and left a lasting impact on Philippine history (Britannica,

2024).

Magsaysay Love Life

He first met his future wife, Luz Banzon, at the office of Try Tran,

when she was picking up the payment for a bus company that her father

had sold to Try Tran. They married on June 10, 1933. He was a strict and
 3 11 11

efficient manager as well as caring mentor it was also a tried ran that he

meet a love of his life Luz Banzon like any smitten young man munching

showed width versatility and patience he offered Luz and her sister a ride

on whenever when they stopped by the bus company he did everything to

be able visit her at her school dorm he wisely out his best foot forward

before Luz parents who became his ally in winning loose affection.When

Luz seemed to take too long to decide he showed his characteristic

impatient and offered no less than an ultimatum to get Luz formally accept

him Luz Banzon Magsaysay would be Ramon Magsaysay loving loyal

partner in a journey that took him to the highest post in the country in less

than to decades their union also produced three children whose owned

development reflected an apparent maxify sense or by now tradition of

social responsibility (NHCP.Gov.Ph, 2012).

Ramon Magsaysay was born on August 31, 1907, in Iba,

Zambales, Philippines. His father, Exequiel Magsaysay, was a school
teacher and his mother, Perfecta del Fierro, was a businesswoman.
Hailing from a humble background, Magsaysay grew up in a close-knit
family that instilled in him the values of hard work, integrity, and
compassion. (Pilipinas Restrostalgia, 2022).
 4 11 11

Magsaysay and the Revolution

The central Luzon plain is a rich agricultural area where a large

peasant population worked as tenant farmers on vast estates. The visible

contrast between the wealthy few and the poverty-stricken masses was

responsible for periodic peasant revolts during the Spanish period of

Philippine history.

During the 1930s central Luzon became a focus for Communist and

Socialist organizational activities. World War II brought matters to a head.

Unlike many other Southeast Asians, the Filipinos offered strong

resistance against the Japanese. After the fall of Bataan to the Japanese

(April 1942), organized guerrilla bands carried on the fight for the

remainder of the occupation period. The Hukbalahap organization proved

highly successful as a guerrilla group and killed many Japanese troops.

The Huks regarded wealthy Filipinos who collaborated with the Japanese

as fair targets for assassination, and by the end of the war they had seized

most of the large estates in central Luzon. They established a regional

government, collected taxes, and administered their own laws. The

returning U.S. Army was suspicious of the Huks because of their

Communist leadership. Tension between the Huks and the Philippine

government immediately arose over the issue of surrender of arms.

The Huks had gathered an estimated 500,000 rifles and were

reluctant to turn them over to a government they regarded as oligarchic.

Philippine independence from the United States was scheduled for July 4,
 5 11 11

1946. An election was held in April for positions in the new government.

The Hukbalahap participated, and the Huk leader Luis Taruc won a seat in

Congress but—along with some other Huk candidates—was unseated by

the victorious Liberal Party. The Huks then retreated to the jungle and

began their rebellion. Immediately after independence, Philippine

president Manuel Roxas announced his “mailed fist” policy toward the

Huks. The morale of government troops was low, however, and their

indiscriminate retaliations against villagers only strengthened Huk appeal.

During the next four years, the Manila government steadily slipped in

prestige while Huk strength increased. (Britannica, 2024)

By 1950 the guerrillas were approaching Manila, and the

Communist leadership decided the time was ripe for a seizure of power.

The Huks suffered a crucial setback when government agents raided their

secret headquarters in Manila. The entire Huk political leadership was

arrested in a single night. At the same time, Huk strength was dealt

another blow when U.S. President Harry Truman, alarmed at the

worldwide expansion of Communist power, authorized large shipments of

military supplies to the Manila government. Another factor in the Huk

defeat was the rise to power of the popular Ramon Magsaysay. His

election as president in 1953 signaled a swing of popular support back to

the Manila government. In 1954 Taruc emerged from the jungle to

surrender, and the Hukbalahap Rebellion, for all practical purposes, came

to an end. The Huk movement and its leadership persisted, however,

 6 11 11

operating primarily from a stronghold in Pampanga province on Luzon

Island. With the failure of subsequent Philippine administrations to

implement the long-promised land reforms, the Huks—although split into

factions and, in some areas, merged with new insurgent groups—

continued into the 1970s as an active antigovernment organization

(Britannica, 2024).

Man of the Masses

To honor Ramon Magsaysay’s great achievement, He is the Man of

the masses. there was an automobile mechanic and a general manager of

Manila Transportation Company who became a guerrilla leader in World

War II, appointed as secretary of defense, fired the corruptible AFP Chief

of Staff and other members and made the members of Hukbalahap

surrender to the government, and in 1954, he became the 3rd President of

the Republic of the Philippines. This man is none other than Ramon F.

Magsaysay. The above mentioned were his achievements before he

became the man of hour in the 50s. He was loved by the mass because of

his humility, honesty, bravery, equality and his simplicity- as well as his

slogan says “Magsaysay is my guy”. According to the Political Analyst Dr.

Jose Abueva, he is so popular because he is the Presidente ng Masang

Pilipino. He is fond of reaching out to people, so his first executive order is

to remove the word Palace from Malacañang Palace. This became a door

for people to flock inside the palace to reach out to the President. He
 7 11 11

roams around the streets in disguise to check the local situations of the

people and look for any corruption. He also broke the stereotype of

nepotism as he banned his lawyer brother from taking cases inside the

Palace and those who wants to get close to the President. He was known

of his aloha shorts when going out repaired the presidential car by himself

when his driver doesn’t know how to while wearing his Barong Tagalog

and took the traffic violation ticket when his driver violated the law, as the

President is not excused in obeying the law.

 18 iii 12

CHAPTER 3

ANALYSIS OF THE HISTORICAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF MAGSAYSAY

Ramon Magsaysay served as the seventh President of the

Philippines from 1953 until his death in 1957. He is remembered for his
efforts to combat corruption, promote social justice, and improve the lives
of ordinary Filipinos. Magsaysay's administration focused on agrarian
reform, aiming to uplift the plight of Filipino farmers. He implemented
various policies to support rural development, including land redistribution
and infrastructure projects. These initiatives aimed to alleviate poverty and
stimulate economic growth in the countryside.
His presidency was marked by his commitment to good governance and
transparency. He initiated reforms to streamline government processes,
root out corruption, and foster a more accountable public administration.
He played a significant role in promoting diplomatic relations with
neighboring countries and promoting regional stability. His leadership
helped strengthen ties with the United States and other allies while also
advocating for independence and sovereignty in international affairs.
Ramon Magsaysay's historical contributions lie in his efforts to
address social and economic challenges, promote good governance, and
enhance the Philippines' standing on the global stage. His legacy
continues to inspire leaders and citizens alike to strive for progress and
integrity in governance.
 iii 14

CHAPTER 4

INTERPRETATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

Ramon Magsaysay's life and legacy leave a profound impact on

Philippine history and society. Through an analysis of his biography,
political career, personal relationships, and public image, several key
interpretations and conclusions can be drawn.

Firstly, Magsaysay's humble beginnings and perseverance

exemplify the values of hard work, integrity, and compassion. Despite
facing challenges such as financial struggles and health issues, he
pursued education and eventually rose to prominence through his
dedication and determination. This narrative underscores the importance
of resilience and grit in achieving success, serving as an inspiration to
generations of Filipinos.

Secondly, Magsaysay's political career reflects his commitment to

public service and his effectiveness as a leader. As Secretary of National
Defense, he gained widespread acclaim for his efforts in combating the
Huk rebellion, restoring peace and order, and implementing significant
reforms. His presidency marked a period of progress and stability,
characterized by initiatives such as land reform, infrastructure
development, and international diplomacy. Magsaysay's pragmatic
approach to governance, coupled with his humility and accessibility to the
masses, endeared him to the Filipino people and earned him the title of
"Man of the Masses."

Furthermore, Magsaysay's personal life, particularly his relationship

with his wife Luz Banzon, highlights the importance of love, support, and
partnership in both personal and professional endeavors. Their union
 iii 14

symbolizes the strength of familial bonds and the role of a supportive

spouse in achieving one's aspirations.

Additionally, Magsaysay's stance on the revolution and his portrayal

as a man of the masses offer insights into his political ideology and
leadership style. While he advocated for peaceful reforms and opposed
violent uprisings, he remained dedicated to addressing societal injustices
and championing the welfare of the common people. His populist appeal
and genuine concern for the well-being of ordinary Filipinos solidified his
place in the hearts of the nation.

In conclusion, Ramon Magsaysay emerges as a trans-formative

figure in Philippine history, embodying the ideals of servant leadership,
resilience, and compassion. His life story serves as a testament to the
power of determination, integrity, and genuine concern for the welfare of
others. Magsaysay's legacy continues to inspire generations of Filipinos to
strive for excellence, uphold moral principles, and work towards a better
future for their country.
 iii 1 166

CHAPTER 5

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Magsaysay. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ramon-Magsaysay

Prescott, J. R. (2016). Ramón Magsaysay—the Myth and the Man:

Philippine Politics and Philippine-American Relations, 1950–
1957. Journal of American-East Asian Relations, 23(1), 7-32.
https://doi.org/10.1163/18765610-02301001

Biography.com Editors, (2014). Ramon Magsaysay

Biography.The Biography.com website.
https://www.biography.com/political-figures/ramon-magsaysay

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