This nation needs another Ramon Magsaysay

There is none among the 17 presidents we had who has been as beloved and as respected as Ramon Magsaysay (RM), the seventh president. From Aguinaldo to BBM, only RM, as he was fondly called, has remained unsullied by any taint of misbehavior, dishonesty, and corruption.

He was just a mechanic, a guerilla leader, and a man of the masses. He was only president from 1954 to 1957. But he opened Malacañang to the people. He walked around the cities and the provinces without bodyguards. He himself drove the presidential car. He never allowed his family members to use official vehicles. The women adored him, the men respected him, the youth idolized him. The older folks considered him a blessing from God. But we lost him at the height of his popularity.

Exactly 69 years ago today on March 16, 1957, RM was the commencement speaker in three universities: University of Visayas, University of San Carlos and Southwestern University. RM was conferred by the UV, owned and managed by the Gullas family led by Don Vicente Gullas, Josefina Rivera Gullas, Don Paulino Gullas, and the sons of Don Vicente, Eduardo (future governor, congressman, and Talisay City mayor) and Jose (future congressman and head of The FREEMAN), the degree of Doctorate of Laws, Honoris Causa after he delivered his commencement address. My late father was one of the graduates.

RM then proceeded to Southwestern College, later University, where he was honored by the late Matias H. Aznar and his wife, Anunciacion, and given a lavish reception. Later, he proceeded to the University of San Carlos, where he also delivered the commencement address. After a hectic day, he visited Don Sergio Osmeña Sr., father of Serging and grandfather of Mayor Tomas and Senator Serge, as well as of former senator Sonny and his brother governor Lito Osmeña.

Don Sergio invited him to stay at the Osmeña Mansion but RM was in a hurry.

At 1 A.M., March 17, Don Sergio sent RM off to the old Lahug Airport now the center of the BPOs adjacent to the Waterfront Hotel. At 1:17 A.M., the plane radioed Malacañang to meet the president and his party at the Nichols air base (now Villamor Air Base). That was the last message from the plane. The towers in Lahug and in Nichols lost contact. At noon, the Balamban mayor officially announced that the presidential plane crashed on the slopes of Mt. Manunggal about 35 kilometers northwest of Cebu City.

The president's body was charred beyond recognition. His identity was only confirmed through dental records and his watch, which was recognized by his family. Within a few hours of the same day, Vice President Carlos P. Garcia, a native of Talibon, Bohol, was sworn in as the eighth president of the pepublic. The swearing in was done inside our embassy in Canberra, Australia, as he was then attending a SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) conference.

I was only seven years old but I saw with my own eyes my own mother, grandmother and my aunts who were all weeping listening over the transistor radio. By then, I realized how beloved that president was by the whole nation. He was only 47 when he became president and was only 49 when he died. He was the youngest to have been appointed secretary of National Defense. He never had any military training. He was a mechanic who was lucky to have married the only daughter of his employer, Luz Banzon.

The Cebuanos named Barangay Luz in honor of his wife. SWU named a building in his honor. But Cebu never named any town in honor of the most beloved president. Well, Cebuanos did not even name a city in honor of Don Sergio. Lapulapu has a city but Magsaysay and Osmeña have none. Sometimes, we cannot understand the Filipinos. But we always remember two great Nacionalista leaders, Ramon Magsaysay and Don Sergio Osmeña.

Today, they do not make politicians like RM and Don Sergio anymore. These trapos we have in our midst could not even hold a candle to Ramon Magsaysay and Don Sergio. We are being led by what Shakespeare called "underlings" more interested in confidential funds and flood-control projects. As we remember president RM, we pray for our nation and for our people. The only younger leader in Cebu today who has the character of RM is Hilario P. Davide, III. But that is another story to write.