PROPERTY FROM THE MAGSAYSAY FAMI LY F OUNDATION COLLECTI ON

*This lot is sold to benefit the ACC and The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation. John D. Rockefeller III established the Asian Cultural Council, as well as The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation.

ABOUT THE WORK

Born to a working-class family from Zambales, Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay emerged as the "Champion of the Masses," gaining the trust and confidence of the Filipinos during his brief three-year presidency. Before entering the political arena, Magsaysay worked as a mechanic for the TRY-TRAN Bus. When the Second World War erupted in the Pacific, Magsaysay joined the motor pool of the 31st Infantry Division of the Philippine Army. He eventually became the commander of a 10,000-strong guerilla force that was instrumental in driving the Japanese off the coast of Zambales before the arrival of the combined forces of American and Philippine Commonwealth troops on January 29, 1944. Encouraged by his fellow ex-guerrillas, Magsaysay broke into politics. In 1946, he was elected representative of the lone district of Zambales. Then-president Manuel Roxas appointed Magsaysay as House Committee Chairman of Defense. He commissioned him in 1948 to go to Washington D.C. to persuade the U.S. Congress to pass the Rogers Bill, which provided benefits and pensions for war veterans. Magsaysay would serve a second term in the Philippine Congress under the presidency of Elpidio Quirino. He would also continue serving as House Committee Chairman of Defense. In 1950, Quirino appointed Magsaysay as Secretary of National Defense after the latter had proposed a plan to defeat the Huk insurgency. With the help of the US CIA, Magsaysay led an extensive campaign against the Huks, eventually culminating in the arrest of its officials and effectively weakening their movement. Magsaysay vied for the presidency during the 1953 national elections. While he was campaigning, Magsaysay would use a jingle composed by Raul Manglapus titled “Mambo Magsaysay.” This tune narrated the country's turbulent state before his stint as Defense Secretary and the corrupt 1949 elections. It marked the first time a campaign jingle was used in the history of Philippine elections—and it proved to be successful. Magsaysay was catapulted to the presidency, winning over Quirino by a landslide. During his inauguration, Magsaysay donned the Barong Tagalog, the first in presidential history. He would regularly wear it to work and on state affairs. As President, Magsaysay opened the Malacañang to the general public and restored faith in the government. He formed the Presidential Complaints and Action Committee, which quickly addressed grievances from the people. Magsaysay's economic policies centered on the impoverished and established institutions geared towards agrarian reform, such as the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration and the Agricultural Credit and Cooperative Administration. It was also under his presidency that the Philippines and Japan ratified both the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the Reparations Agreement. Magsaysay's term, which was to end on December 30, 1957, was cut short when he perished during a fatal plane crash on Mount Manunggal in Cebu on March 16, 1957. Roughly 2 million people attended his state funeral on March 22, 1957. In 1954, barely a year after Magsaysay had ascended to the presidency, Vicente Manansala would paint a dignified portrait of the man in his Barong Tagalog. Magsaysay gazes from afar, perhaps envisioning a promising future for the Philippines. Through this portrait of the former president, which could be in the same league as the official one that hangs on the walls of the Malacañang, Manansala immortalizes the man whose unwavering principles espoused the ideals of democracy and championed the interests of the Filipino people.