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I never understood why the elderly have always had fond memories of Magsaysay. The mention of his charisma and popularity among the masses has been so casually written in history books (as far back as third grade I think my Sibika at Kultura books always talk about his popularity) that I have lost appreciation for it. Approaching my teens, I have learned to ask myself “what does popularity amount to, anyways?” The only kind of charisma and popularity that I’ve known then was that of Ferdinand Marcos with respect to his loyalists, and later, that of Joseph Estrada with his brand of “masa.”

I, however, recently chanced upon the Philippine Free Press blog, which published classic articles including one where the publication declared Magsaysay as Man of the Year in 1951. Magsaysay was defense secretary at the time.

Only then did I realize who Ramon Magsaysay truly was; or at least how he was perceived during his time. He was a man who had balls – the balls to reform the then already corruption-ridden military, the balls to ensure arrest a multimillionaire-cum-communist movement financier even if he had to do it twice, the balls to go to the barrios and talk to the masa to inquire about the real actions of his military officers.

Moreover, he was a man who had the balls to say no. A military officer who failed to send reinforcements to troops ambushed by the Hukbalahap pleaded to him to be given another chance, dragging along his wife and his children. Magsaysay said no. He was a man who clearly knew what it took to discipline his subordinates, and perhaps, reform the culture of corruption within the military.

And all the while I thought that, as President, his trips to the barrios to talk to the people was mere political gimmickry. Only recently did I understand that while his successors enjoy the same activity in the presence of news cameras, Magsaysay was doing it as a cabinet member who wanted to know the truth for himself, without any kind of photographic equipment following his every move.
The troubled political waters of the Philippines needs a Magsaysay now more than ever. And the existence of such a man in the past — a past that is not awfully different from the present aside from technology — gives hope that such good men exist in the present. Or will, at least, rise in the future.

Because we really need a man with such balls right now.