President Magsaysay is the man we should admire

From this day, the members of my administration, beginning with myself, shall cease to belong to our parties, to our families, even to ourselves. We shall belong only to the people. In the administration of public affairs, all men entrusted with authority must adhere firmly to the ideals and principles of the Constitution.

I will render-and demand-uncompromising loyalty to the basic tenet of our Constitution: that you the people, are sovereign.

The rule of the government must be service to you. Accordingly, I pledge my administration to your service. I pledge that we shall be guardians of freedom and dignity of the individual.

This was what President Magsaysay told the Filipinos during his reign. Among all the Presidents who have come to pass, it was only Magsaysay who was able to bring back the glory of the Philippines from darkness.

Today we are still waiting for that man on a white horse – A ‘moral’ man who will pull us out from the abyss and strengthen the fiber of this nation.

We have been wounded inside out. Our body, mind and spirit have been abused and exploited by the rich and the mighty. Many have used the government as a milking cow to give them more wealth – yes, stealing from the Filipino people.

The government we have is only a façade. It is an empty structure because the small, the big and the queen ‘termites’ have already eaten everything up inside. The services offered are mediocre. Why is this so, one may ask? It is because the public servants are not focused on providing quality and efficient services. Instead they are focused on corrupting the system for personal gain.

This is the Philippines. Unless, our government (which includes the executive, legislative and judiciary branches) changes their morale principles our people will continue to suffer.

This brings me back to President Ramon Magsaysay who showed us that even after a great depression, the Philippines was able to recover after the Japanese War and World War 2. He was a good representative who was very clear with his principles and programs. He was very ‘moral’ in everything he did.

Last week, our countrymen celebrated his 55th death anniversary and Mayor Fred Lim of Manila who never forgets history and the importance of it shared with me Magsaysay’s 1st State of the Nation Address delivered on January 15, 1954. In his SONA, Magsaysay said:

“And now let us consider the moral state of the nation. There is little in the immediate past of which we may be proud. Since the change of administration, we have unearthed one case after another of outrageous corruption, abuse of power, and manipulation of the laws for self-enrichment. The sordid record is just beginning to unfold. I fear that further inquiry will yield even uglier facts.

What we have been asked – are we going to do about all this? We must first of all, remove unworthy government officials and employees. Where the evidence so warrants, we will prosecute those who justly deserve prosecution. Not only considerations of morale and discipline but also the very progress of our work make this demand upon us. We shall not be able to move ahead for as long as those entrusted with the promotion of the public welfare are busy exploring and exploiting opportunities for selfish ends. We simply cannot tolerate such men in the government. They must go.

I wish to make clear that the spirit of justice, not of persecution, will guide us in this undertaking. The innocent, the honest and the efficient need fear nothing from us. This Government will protect and defend their rights by enforcing impartially and without political bias our civil service rules and regulations. In the Executive Department, I will not permit anyone to exact political vengeance on honest and efficient employees by dismissing them without cause or harassing them in any other way. The victory we have won is not a license for political persecution.

To guide us in the conduct of public business, we must return to the timeless moral and political principles which we have either forgotten or taken for granted. There is the principle that honesty is the best policy in public as well as in private life. There is the principle that, while politics is indispensable for the workings of democracy, it cannot be superior to the interest of the nation.

In the effort to secure for ourselves and our children a government of integrity and efficiency, I will welcome whatever legislation may be enacted by Congress that will serve to prevent, deter, and discourage corruption, increase the penalty for malfeasance in office, and lay down definite rules of ethical conduct in government.

In the last few years there has been a decline of morality. Character building alone, without a solid moral foundation, has been found inadequate in developing a sound citizenry.”

This speech reminds us of our problems and sorrows today. It is still very relevant to our times – only the events and the people have changed. The difference is that Magsaysay in his time was able to clean up government very well until his successors came in and destroyed it again. And to this day, they have never been able to match and meet the high quality standards that Magsaysay was able to achieve in his day and time. He truly had faith in the country and the Filipinos had faith in him.

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There are so many rumors going around nowadays about the Chief Justice. One that fascinates me is that he bought a house at Naples, Florida back in the nineties. How true is this? I remember an alleged eye-popping ‘buying spree’ during the Ramos time by some palace officials (who later went to serve GMA) – at Naples, Florida where New York yuppies love to go house shopping for million-dollar digs by the sea. Anyway, this is just another juicy gossip from the grapevine to spice up your week!