Excerpts of Don Sergio Osmeña’s oration on the death of President Magsaysay

This was delivered on March 22, 1957, five days after the crash that killed President Ramon Magsaysay.

“The death of Ramon Magsaysay has left us a profoundly sorrowing people. Yet, our grief seems somehow lightened by the fact that the entire free world sincerely shares our acute sense of irreparable loss. May I therefore venture to hope, as I once more extend my heartfelt condolence to his deeply grieving family, that the sharing of their heartbreaking grief by all our people, as well as by the free world, may somehow help them bear their bereavement.

“Ramon Magsaysay burst into public life like a fresh wind after a long suffocating day. He died in the night while his people, once more enjoying security and once more full of hope, peacefully slept. They woke up in the morning to discover with a shock and to grieve with a broken heart over their sudden misfortune.

“Ramon Magsaysay is one of the immortal heroes of democracy. Not only did he save his own nation from being victimized, as many other nations have been victimized, by Communist subversion and aggression, but he also gave the free world an inspiration and an example to follow in its struggle unto death against ruthless Communism.

“When Ramon Magsaysay broke the back of the Communist-led rebellion in the Philippines, he also convinced other peoples, similarly threatened, that they, too, could win over Communist aggression. His effective method of handling dissidents, with both force and understanding, has since been successfully followed by other countries with similar problems of subversion.

“Thus, in the death of Ramon Magsaysay, we have acquired a great heritage and a great responsibility. In following his example and contributing what we can to the long-range task of nation-building which he began, we not only shall erect, out of his own blueprint, an enduring monument to his memory, but shall also ourselves contribute to the happiness of our people, the progress of our democracy and the stature of our Republic.

“In His infinite wisdom, the Almighty has removed from this life our beloved leader. Ramon Magsaysay is no more. But the fruits of his wise statesmanship will henceforward enrich our lives, and his memory will forever be gratefully enshrined in our hearts.”