Wanted: Another Magsaysay

Magsaysay epitomizes a man who is neither highly educated nor cerebral but a man of action and of his words. He did not fool or deceive the electorates just to gain their votes. When he got elected, he kept his promises, and as a public servant truly treated the people as his masters.

Ramon del Fierro magsaysay sr., also known as “The guy,” would have been 114 years old were he still alive today. magsaysay was born on august 31, 1907 in iba, Zambales but his family moved to the small town of Castillejos, south of the capital town, when he was 10 years old. He is our 7th President and, not counting emilio aguinaldo, the youngest ever elected to serve as our head of state at the age of 46. He was widely credited for defeating the communist-led Hukbalahap movement, which was already knocking at the gates of manila in the early 1950s when the communist insurgency was on the rise.

China fell to communism in 1949 and it was followed by the North Korean invasion of South Korea in 1950. The Marxist ideology was rapidly spreading its tentacles in Southeast Asia. Magsaysay’s appointment by President Elpidio Quirino as the Secretary of National Defense dealt the Hukbalahap a crushing blow. He carried out a successful anti-insurgency campaign against the Huks. He also reformed the armed forces, dismissed corrupt and abusive military officers and improved the operational capability and intelligence gathering of the military with the help of American advisers. He reoriented the soldiers to the task of winning civil cooperation, instead of just winning the battle. He started a land distribution program and agricultural support to the peasants to get them on the side of the government. Magsaysay’s efforts, particularly his policy of attraction, eventually resulted in the death or capture of many Huk leaders. Barely 3 months at the DND portfolio, in one fell swoop, the entire political leadership of the Huks were arrested in a raid of their clandestine headquarters in Manila on October 18, 1950. Practically, the top Politburo members led by Atty. Jose Lava and Angel Baking were arrested while holding a meeting in Manila.

This caused wide demoralization among the communist members. Many surrendered although the diehard insurgents continued with their struggle, but then Magsaysay made sure that their days were numbered.

A staunch anti-communist, Magsaysay was a principal ally of the US in waging war against communism during the cold war. He strongly adhered to the so-called “domino effect” principle enunciated by then President Dwight Eisenhower that the fall of one country to the communist in Southeast Asia will lead to another country’s failure. When he became president, Magsaysay helped organize the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, which was formed in Manila on September 8, 1954 to oppose the rise of Marxism.

Magsaysay was the first Filipino president who did not come from an elite family. Although the family was not rich, his father had a thriving business as a blacksmith, which comfortably supported the family. Magsaysay helped his father in his work and loved doing mechanical jobs. As a teen, he tinkered with the family car, an old Model-t Ford, and learned without formal training car engine repair. This battered car earned him an income by using the vehicle to deliver fish to the interior towns of Zambales while he was still in high school. When he finished his Commerce Degree at the Jose Rizal College, he was employed as a bus mechanic before the war by Trytran, a company owned by Teodoro R. Yangco. He was later promoted as a shop supervisor and later as its branch manager. When the war broke out, he became a guerilla leader in Zambales. His guerilla outfit freed Zambales from the Japanese forces, allowing the liberating US forces to land in the province on its way to recapture Manila and the neighboring places. His intrepid courage and contributions to the war efforts were recognized by the Americans and he was named the military governor of his province immediately after the war. Later, he was prevailed upon by his supporters to run for Congress to represent his province as the LP official bet. He won over his opponent overwhelmingly and was reelected for a second term in Congress before President Elpidio Quirino named him as the Secretary of National Defense.

Magsaysay’s designation as the Secretary of National Defense was an appointment with destiny. No question that holding the powerful defense portfolio had given Magsaysay a platform to demonstrate his exceptional capability. He suppressed the Huk insurgency, reformed the armed forces and captured the imagination and support of the Filipinos. He restored peace and order and, with his enigmatic charisma, won the trust of the people in government. His enormous popularity among the masses made him a shoo-in for the presidency in 1953. The highly unpopular President Quirino, hounded by corruption charges and impotent leadership, lost by a landslide. As president, the sovereign people were his “bosses’’ and acknowledged that real power emanates from them. Thus, he was called the “Man of the Masses.” He was humble and incorruptible and remained extremely popular with the people. No president, before or since Magsaysay, has been so well loved by the Filipinos. One of his first acts after assuming the presidency was to open the gates of Malacañang to the masses and made them the central focus of his agenda. The Guy’s meaningful reforms and programs shifted the people’s support from the insurgents to the government. Among others, he set up the Economic Development Corp., which distributed lands to the former rebels where Huk surrenderees were resettled and rehabilitated. Soon, Luis Taruc, the Huk supremo, emerged from his mountain lair and surrendered to the government.

Magsaysay was only 50 years old when he died in a plane crash on March 17, 1957. There was no doubt that his reelection that year would have been a walk in the park. We have had several presidents who have served our country with distinction or dishonor. Sad to say, the latter outnumbers the former. Definitely, Magsaysay has given us a reason to be both happy and proud. How we wish we could say the same thing for many of those who came before and after him. And our greatest wish is to have another Guy who will answer the call for a genuine public service this coming 2022 presidential election. Magsaysay epitomizes a man who is neither highly educated nor cerebral but a man of action and of his words. He did not fool or deceive the electorates just to gain their votes. When he got elected, he kept his promises, and as a public servant truly treated the people as his masters.