Magsaysay to push IT, BPO development

MANILA, Philippines - Former Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr., the only son and namesake of the former president, remains optimistic over the new Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showing his improved ranking that places him within striking distance of the winning senatorial bets for the May elections.

“This latest survey gives us a renewed sense of optimism and hope that we can finally land in the winning circle. The survey shows that we are slowly but surely catching up with the Magic 12,” said Magsaysay, whose ranking climbed to 13th-14th from 16th in the previous SWS surveys.

In the SWS survey conducted from March 15-17, Magsaysay obtained 37 percent voting preference, compared with 32 percent he got in the February SWS survey. His ranking was also two points shy of a statistical tie for 12th spot. The survey had 1,200 respondents.

If re-elected, Magsaysay hopes to continue his advocacies on information technology and business processing outsourcing (BPO), as well as agriculture and fisheries. 

Magsaysay believes that there is a need to enlighten the people on the need to achieve competitiveness in the country. The Philippines was on track in the 1950s when his father was president, Magsaysay said, noting the economy was then a pace setter in the region.

Magsaysay said working hard and living a simple life are just some of the lessons he learned from his father, who died in a plane crash on March 17, 1957.

The former senator said his father used to bring him to Binondo to imbibe lessons on entrepreneurship. He was then around eight years old.

Turning 75 this June, Magsaysay looks forward to being with young senators if he gets another chance at the Senate.

“It’s marrying experience and wisdom with the energy of the youth. (The seniors) can act as navigator, like in the military,” he said.

Unlike his contemporaries who have undergone stem cell therapy, Magsaysay said he is curious about the treatment but has never tried it.

“When you look at my productive life for about 50 years, I have 16 years devoted to politics, which is 12 years at the Senate and four at the old Congress. The rest of the time (34 years), I was employed as an engineer,” he said.

When he was still in the private sector, Magsaysay worked with Caltex, and the garment and textile sector before he started his own cable television business in 1972, when he became a pioneer in analog cable TV and broadband service.

From 1972 to 1986, his firm built almost 25 systems focusing on design, construction and setting up management in such areas as Iligan City, Davao and Bacolod. He was dubbed as the “father of cable television.”

He was elected as congressman for the lone district of Zambales in 1965.

At the Senate, he was instrumental in uncovering the nitty-gritty details of the multimillion-fertilizer fund scam during the previous administration.

As far as he is concerned, political dynasty is a moral, more than a legal, issue.

“I think the dynasty issue is a real issue, it is something that is not desirable but (thrives) because of the culture of the Filipino family. We must have a law. Absent of a law, it should be the moral values of the family,” Magsaysay said, adding that his father had prohibited any member of the family from holding public office while he was in government. “If the head of the family has a strong moral compass, then he will avoid dynasty practices.”

Magsaysay is seeking another try at the Senate under the administration’s Liberal Party. He finished his term as senator in 2007 and returned to his dairy farm and cable businesses.