‘As election draws near, the traits of leadership that Magsaysay exemplified reverberate in our midst. We need a new President who will move and propel the “whole of government” to improve the lot of the “common man.”’
TODAY, March 17, is the 65th death anniversary of former President Ramon Magsaysay, the 7th president of our Republic whose unsullied reputation, love for the masses, and strength of character are legend. We cannot help but remember him as calls for able and worthy leadership in this trying time are heard everywhere.
The current volatile situation compels us all the more to deeply weigh the qualities of our next leader in whose hands we shall entrust our rise or fall. We cannot afford to be undiscerning or apathetic.
The late President Ramon Magsaysay who perished in a plane crash on March 17, 1957 succinctly described how governance should be: “Government starts at the bottom and moves upward, for (it) exists for the welfare of the masses of the nation.”
The popular and well-loved Chief Executive emphasized the necessary and inherent qualities of a leader in his timeless credo, “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.”
As election draws near, the traits of leadership that Magsaysay exemplified reverberate in our midst. We need a new President who will move and propel the “whole of government” to improve the lot of the “common man.”
We must see through the various campaigns’ communication strategies propped up by the dazzle of performances and personalities in sorties, and unravel who really is the candidate.
Will he/she really stand up for the ordinary Filipino who has nothing more left to fend for himself in the wake of the pandemic? Will he/she lose no time to take up the cause of the defenseless whose groans drown in the hype of supposed government accomplishments? Will his/her heart and soul embrace the abandoned countrymen in dire straits?
Let us not forget that no matter how difficult the journey out of the pandemic can be, a leader like the late Magsaysay who would pour his life and take risks to be able to reach out to the least of our people can help make a difference in our path to economic recovery and growth.
In one of his most riveting messages delivered in Filipino, Magsaysay seemed to have predicted his passing at the time of his presidency, while echoing the essence of leadership: “True public service is not counted by the number of years but by what one has done for the country… Others may have spent many years serving the government, while I may have only four years, but what’s important is that we did what we could do to the best that we could – for the common man.”
As the nation marks his 65th death anniversary, may we be reminded of what a worthy presidency can do for the country as together we surmount the myriad challenges ahead.
