Remember Ramon Magsaysay in this election season

PRESIDENT Ramon Magsaysay died in a plane crash on March 17, 1957, but he is not forgotten. His life and legacy are as relevant as ever, particularly now that we are preparing to elect a new president and other national officials.

I remember the first time I met the man. It was at the breakfast table at our home on Saluysoy Street, Morningside Terrace, in Sta. Mesa, Manila. He was the guest of my father, Paulino Garcia, along with the former president Jose P. Laurel and Claro M. Recto. The subject of their discussion was Magsaysay’s possible run for the presidency, and I did not have a clue because I was just then starting high school.

He was a tall and imposing figure—in my mind’s eye, he seemed like a gentle giant. He had a ready smile as well as a good grip; my hand disappeared inside his. I recall that he listened as the elders spoke, but when it was his turn to speak, everyone seemed to be in rapt attention.

My father, a physician, was a founding member of the Civil Liberties Union of the Philippines and had friends in public service. He had other friends among those who consulted him at home regarding their medical condition since he also ran an X-ray clinic and read X-ray plates at home.

When Magsaysay became president, he appointed my father as health secretary and there were times when my father took me with him to meetings. One morning, I woke up to the smell of fried eggs and rice—and I discovered that it was the President doing the frying in the kitchen!

I recall my family’s grief when news broke of the fatal crash of the plane bearing the President on Mount Manunggal in Cebu 59 years ago. The crash also claimed the lives of members of his Cabinet and his entourage.

It is opportune that his death is being commemorated in the midst of the election campaign. It gives us pause as well as occasion to reflect on some of the qualities we seek in those who aspire to lead us.

There are five admirable qualities that I remember in Magsaysay, who was no perfect president but was dearly loved by the people he served:

• First of all, “Integrity” was his middle name.

• He was approachable and accessible. He rose from humble beginnings, studied while he worked, and advanced by dint of hard work—“dirtying his hands,” so to speak, in the process.

• He spoke the language of the common folk, and the song that accompanied his campaign sorties captured this spirit: “Magsaysay is My Guy.” His heart was with the poor, the marginalized, and the most vulnerable in society.

• As defense secretary, he went to great lengths to ensure the safety of communities and the security of individuals. People felt safe in knowing that he had their backs.

• Finally, he was a doer. He preferred to speak in a few words, and let his deeds do the talking for him. But when he did speak, he was not one to mince words.

Ramon Magsaysay was a man whose honesty was legendary and whose actions spoke volumes. He never tired of declaring: “Those who have less in life should have more in law.”

As we recall the life and times of this president in whose honor the Ramon Magsaysay Awards, Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize, are named, we pray that God grant our people the wisdom to choose a leader as capable, as humble, as true, and as willing to serve in and out of season, with a preference for the disadvantaged in life. Ed Garcia was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission and worked with Amnesty International and International Alert in London. He taught political science at the University of the Philippines and Latin American studies at Ateneo de Manila University. Currently, he serves as a consultant for formation at Far Eastern University Diliman.