Magsaysay, Ramon

Magsaysay, Ramon

(born Aug. 31, 1907, Iba, Phil.—died March 17, 1957, near Cebu) President of the Philippines (1953–57). Son of a Malay artisan, he was a schoolteacher before becoming a guerrilla leader during World War II. In 1950, as secretary of defense, he launched one of the most successful antiguerrilla campaigns in modern history, against insurgents of the Hukbalahap Rebellion. He deprived them of popular support by offering peasants land and tools and insisting that the army treat them with respect. By 1953 the Huks were no longer a threat, and Magsaysay was elected president. His efforts at reform were frustrated by a conservative Congress. He was killed in a plane crash before the end of his term.

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Magsaysay, Ramon 

Born Aug. 31, 1907, in Iba, Zambales Province, on the island of Luzon; died Mar. 17, 1957, in an airplane crash. Philippine politician and statesman.

In 1946, Magsaysay became a deputy to Congress from the Liberal Party. From 1950 to 1953, he was minister of defense and directed military actions against the insurgent forces. In 1953 he switched over to the Nacionalista Party, and as their candidate he was elected president. President from 1954 to 1957, Magsaysay followed a line in foreign affairs that was contradictory to the interests of the Philippines (for example, signing the 1954 SEATO pact), and he limited democratic freedoms within the country. At the same time he adopted a number of measures to protect national capital and was the initiator of laws that satisfied some demands of the popular masses (trade union legislation in 1953 and social security in 1954, as well as the land laws in 1954-55).