Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation remembers legacy of late president

President Ramon Magsaysay

MANILA, Philippines — Amid the challenges now being faced by Asia, the life and legacy of president Ramon Magsaysay is timely to remember, the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) said Thursday.

In a statement, the RMAF noted that six decades since Magsaysay’s passing, Asia is faced with several challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters brought by climate change, and a “veritable infodemic of fake news fueling divisiveness and the rise of strongman rule.”

Magsaysay died in a plane crash on March 17, 1957. The RMAF, Asia’s premier prize and highest honor, was established to preserve his legacy as a champion of democracy and values of servant leadership.

“We are also witness to the continuing crisis in Myanmar and Afghanistan, as well as the unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Ukraine and Russia. Their effects are felt here as in many other parts of the world, for we are all connected,” the RMAF said.

The RMAF said the commemoration of Magsaysay’s death “gives us pause to reflect on the kind of world we wish to build and the country we hope to offer to succeeding generations.”

“And so today, the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation applauds the many front-liners who continue the fight to preserve the rule of law, respect for human rights, recognition and support for the marginalized sectors of our societies,” the foundation said.

“Today, more than ever, the words and the actions of President Magsaysay and our past laureates reverberate loudly,” it added.

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/MUF