For Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay, the seventh president of the Philippines whose 112th birth anniversary is being marked today, Aug. 31, concern for the welfare of others was not just a political gimmick to win votes.
Nephew Exequiel Magsaysay, or Exy, namesake of the president’s father, said “his (Ramon’s) generosity and exposure to the masa, he learned from lolo,” who set the example for honesty and hard work. The elder Exequiel was concerned about those around him—family, friend or employee—as long as they were in need. The lolo’s example taught Ramon to offer comfort and to give before being asked, Exy said.
The strict disciplinarian that he was, Exequiel drilled into his children a rigid code of duty and self-discipline.
Ramon’s biographers said that among his first words when he became president were those of his father’s: “First comes honesty.” The father ranked honesty above all other virtues. He was a fanatic believer not only in speaking the truth but in living the truth. It was a belief Exequiel shared with his children from the time they were small.
Exequiel also strongly believed in the dignity of labor and told his children: “A man should not enjoy the pleasures of life, like good food, smoking, or expensive clothes, unless he has earned them.”
Ramon, known to the masa as The Guy, took this lesson to heart. He resisted offers of perks, presents or favors, believing they tarnished the image of the presidency and could compromise its impartiality and open the way to influence-peddling, graft and corruption.
While he was president, Ramon discouraged relatives, including a brother who planned to start a law practice, from pursuing careers or businesses that might benefit from his influence. His younger brother was able to go into politics only after the president passed away in a plane crash in 1957 before he could complete his term. An uncle sued the government when a legitimate contract he had negotiated was canceled, because the president worried people would think it was awarded through his influence.
Ramon’s wife, the former Luz Banzon, kept family household accounts strictly separate from official ones while they were in Malacañang, charging them to the president’s salary and not the president’s official budget. Being mere “tenants” in Malacañang, as Ramon described themselves, he did not want to spend money for renovation or a new car. When asked why, he said, “How can I when I see the people suffering? They have no food, no medicine, no drinking water, no irrigation for their farms. How can the President allow these luxuries when the people who voted him to office are living in deprivation?”
He declared in his Credo: “I believe that a high and unwavering sense of morality should pervade all spheres of governmental activity… I believe that the President should set the example of a big heart, an honest mind, sound instincts, the virtue of healthy impatience and an abiding love for the
common man.”
He also believed that “those who have less in life should have more in law.”
When Ramon died, Exequiel, the father who made him the man that he was, worried about the family his son left behind. The outpouring of support for the bereaved family assured him they were in good hands. Relatives, friends and admirers offered help, although they could only give as much as, and as far as, the grieving widow and her children would let them.
Even in their grief, Ramon’s strict code of conduct, learned from a father who followed the same, had to guide the family.
Luis Serrano Jr. is the son of the late Luis Serrano Sr. of The Manila Times. He is a former public relations practitioner.