Magsaysay cabinet

Ramon Magsaysay, President of the Philippines from 1953 to 1957

The Philippine Magsaysay Cabinet was formed by President Ramon Magsaysay on December 30, 1953 and remained in office until his death in a plane crash on March 17, 1957. It replaced the Quirino Cabinet and was replaced by the Carlos P. Garcia Cabinet, which was formed by Magsaysay's previous Vice-President Carlos P. Garcia .

During his presidency, Magsaysay promised social reforms and in 1954 initiated some inadequate changes to the lease system. Instead of the usual 50 percent of the harvest, the tenants should “only” have to deliver 25 percent to the landlord. This reform policy was unable to prevail against the unanimous resistance of the large landowners. On May 17, 1954, Luis Taruc , the leader of the communist resistance movement Hukbalahap, surrendered . This brought their rebellion to an end, although remnants of the movement remained active until the early 1960s. On September 5, 1955 in a trade agreement (Laurel-Langley Agreement) the Commercial Code (Philippine Trade Act) revised in which duties on US goods were raised and subject to Philippine goods lower import restrictions.

Minister in the Magsaysay Cabinet

The Magsaysay Cabinet consisted of the following ministers:

Office	Official	Beginning of the term of office	Term expires
President of the Philippines	Ramon Magsaysay	1953	1957
Vice President	Carlos P. Garcia	1953	1957
Minister for Agriculture and Natural Resources	Placido Mapa Salvador Araneta Juan Rodriguez	1953 1953 1955	1953 1955 1957
Foreign minister	Carlos P. Garcia	1953	1957
Finance minister	Jaime Hernandez	1953	1957
Minister of Justice	Pedro Tuazon	1953	1957
Minister for National Defense	Ramon Magsaysay Sotero Cabahug Eulogio Balao	1953 1954 1956	1954 1956 1957
Minister for Trade and Industry	Oscar Ledesma	1953	1957
Minister of Public Works, Transport and Communication	Vicente Orosa Florencio Moreno	1954 1955	1955 1957

Magsaysay Government Presidency and Policy

Elections and taking office on December 30, 1953

From the presidential election on November 10, 1953, Ramon Magsaysay emerged as the clear winner; right: Vice President Carlos P. Garcia

The elections on November 10, 1953 brought a huge victory for the candidates of the Nacionalista Party Magsaysay and Garcia, which was the biggest victory so far in the presidential election. Magsaysay received 2,912,992 votes (68.9 percent), while incumbent President Elpidio Quirino only got 1,313,991 votes (31.08 percent). The non-party candidate Gaudencio Bueno received only 736 votes (0.02 percent). The Quirino from Ilocos Sur was only in the four provinces of Ilocos Norte , Ilocos Sur, Abra and La Union in northern Luzon before Magsaysay. Garcia, too, with 2,515,265 votes (62.9 percent) clearly prevailed against Quirino's vice-presidential candidate José Yulo , who received 1,483,802 votes (37.1 percent).

In the simultaneous elections to the Senate , the Nacionalista Party received five of the eight seats to be awarded, two seats ( Fernando López , Ruperto Kangleon ) went to the Democratic Party, while Lorenzo Tañada won one seat for the Nationalist Citizens' Party (NCP). In the House of Representatives elections , which also took place , the Liberal Party was able to maintain its position of supremacy despite losses and held 59 of the 102 seats. The Nacionalista Party had 31 seats and the Democratic Party 11 seats. In addition, a non-party was represented in the third congress .

On November 12, 1953, Quirino admitted his electoral defeat and congratulated the election winner Magsaysay, who thereupon called on all Filipinos to cohesion as "one nation" in a first press release. After the last cabinet meeting on December 29, 1953, Magsaysay officially took over the office of President on December 30, 1953.

On December 30, 1953, Ramon Magsaysay and Carlos P. Garcia were inducted into office at the Luneta in front of around a million spectators. Both wore the traditional Barong Tagalog and Magsaysay then opened the Malacañang Palace , the official residence of the President, to the people. At the same time, he used the Ilokano drink Basi instead of foreign spirits to exchange toasts with foreign diplomats . After taking office, he officially forbade nepotism and the designation of cities, squares, bridges and streets after him.

Land reform and rural development

As president, he drove the purchase of large estates and the distribution of the land to tenant farmers. Three legislative procedures were carried out to introduce its land reform. The Agricultural Tenancy Act 1954 was intended to transform the rent system into a lease system. This law also encouraged the reduction of land leases and the prohibition on terminating leases for arbitrary reasons. At the same time, the Court of Agrarian Relations was established to check whether leases were terminated for arbitrary reasons. In 1955 the Land Reform Act (Land Reform Act) was also passed, which was intended to improve relations between landowners and tenants.

Furthermore, the post of Presidential Assistant for Community Development ( PACD ) was created and filled with the young lawyer Ramon Binamira , who was also supposed to ensure rural development. This office was also created to increase productivity, build access roads, and improve government health and education services in the barangays . At the same time, local roads and irrigation projects were expanded. Agricultural experts were sent to the barangays to teach farmers how to improve agricultural production. The granting of loans to farmers has been expanded through the Agricultural Credit and Cooperative Financing Administration ( ACCFA ) . Marketing cooperatives, so-called FACOMA (Farmers Cooperative and Marketing Association) were organized nationwide. The legislative process was completed by Congress on August 11, 1955 , authorizing the President to break up large estates to distribute to tenants.

Some public land has also been distributed to qualified settlers. During the first year of Magsaysay's tenure, 28,000 land titles were issued covering an area of ​​241,000 hectares . In 1955, the number of land titles issued increased to 33,075 and the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration ( NARRA) relocated 8,800 families within 22 settlement projects . During his tenure, Japan agreed to pay reparations for the Occupation and World War II destruction of $ 800 million over 20 years.

Luis Taruc and the Hukbalahap

The alleviation of peasant protests became the greatest achievement of Magsaysay's reign. In early 1954, President Magsaysay dispatched 21-year-old Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. , a journalist for the Daily Mirror and former well-known correspondent for the Korean War , to secret negotiations with Luis Taruc , the leader of the communist resistance movement Hukbalahap . After four months of negotiations, Taruc surrendered to the government on May 17, 1954, and recognized the proper government authority of the President. Taruc was then charged and sentenced to twelve years in prison. Many of his supporters also surrendered or were arrested, with the exception of Jesus Lava , who later became chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines PKP ( Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas ) .

Foundation of SEATO, international agreements and criticism by Senator Recto

In order to counter the communist activities in the Philippines and the other neighboring countries in Southeast Asia , the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization ( SEATO ) was set up in Manila. On September 8, 1954, SEATO was founded on the model of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) by the member states Australia , France , Great Britain , New Zealand , Pakistan , the Philippines, Thailand and the USA. Senator Claro M. Recto was critical of the SEATO idea, as such an organization could unnecessarily provoke other neighboring countries in Asia . He was also against the participation of troops of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in foreign wars, especially the Indochina War . During the Senate sessions, Recto stated that President Magsaysay had involved the Philippines against constitutional authority.

Recto was in opposition to the President on numerous matters . These included, for example, the Foreign Investment Bill , which provided for private US investments in the Philippines. Recto saw it as another US plan to impede the country's economic development. Another matter that Recto criticized was the trade agreement (Laurel-Langley Agreement) signed on December 15, 1954 in Washington, DC by Senator José P. Laurel and the US diplomat James M. Langley . This agreement provided for the gradual abolition of free trade between the United States and the Philippines from January 1, 1956 to July 3, 1976. In Recto's view, such an agreement would perpetuate the Philippines' status as an economic satellite state. On September 5, 1955 by the Laurel-Langley Agreement , the Commercial Code (Philippine Trade Act) revised in which duties on US goods were raised and subject to Philippine goods lower import restrictions.

The Rizal Law

By law, the works Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo , written by the national hero of the Philippines, José Rizal , became compulsory reading in 1956 at all universities and colleges

Senator Recto also proposed the Rizal Bill , which proposed the introduction of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo , written by José Rizal , into compulsory reading at all universities and colleges. The bill met opposition in the Senate from Senator Decoroso Rosales , brother of Archbishop of Cebu Julio Rosales y Ras , Senator Mariano Cuenco , brother of Archbishop of Jaro José Maria Cuenco , and Senator Francisco Soc Rodrigo , former President of Catholic Action . In their opinion, the introduction as required reading would jeopardize freedom of conscience and religion.

On May 12, 1956, the controversial bill was adopted following an opinion drafted by Senator José P. Laurel and based on proposals from Senators Roseller T. Lim and Emmanuel Pelaez . After that it was possible for students to be exempt from reading the unabridged editions of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo for religious reasons. Under Republic Law No. 1425, the Rizal Law was finally signed on August 26, 1956 and then came into effect.

Magsaysay's death, succession and election of Garcia

After Magsaysay's death in a plane crash, Vice President Carlos P. Garcia took office on March 18, 1957

On March 16, 1957, Magsaysay left Manila for Cebu City , where he gave speeches at three universities. That same night he boarded the official presidential plane to fly back to Manila. In the early morning hours of March 17, 1057, his plane was reported missing. It wasn't until much later that afternoon that it became known that the plane had crashed on Mount Manunggal, Cebu , and that 26 of the 27 occupants were dead. The only survivor was newspaper reporter Nestor Mata. On the following March 18, 1957, Vice President Carlos P. Garcia assumed the office of President by constitution and was sworn in to complete Magsaysay's remaining term of office until December 30, 1957.

In the regular presidential election on November 12, 1957, Garcia ran for the Nacionalista Party for president with Jose B. Laurel Jr. as his running mate for vice president. José Yulo and Diosdado Macapagal ran for the Liberal Party , Manuel Manahan and Vicente Araneta for the Progressive Party, and Claro M. Recto and Lorenzo Tañada as President and Vice-President for the Nationalist Citizens' Party . The elections became known as the most expensive in Filipino history to date. Garcia won the election with 2,072,257 votes (41.28 percent) clearly against José Yulo (1,386,829 votes, 27.62 percent), Manuel Manahan (1,049,420 votes, 20.9 percent) and Claro M. Recto ( 429,226 votes, 8.55 percent) decide for themselves. In the election for the office of vice president, however, Diosdado Macapagal was up with 2,189,197 votes (46.55 percent) from José Laurel, Jr. (1,783,012 votes, 37.91 percent), Vicente Araneta (375,090 votes, 7.97) Percent) and Lorenzo Tañada (344,685 votes, 7.32 percent).

Web links

• Ramon Magsaysay on the homepage of the Malacañang Palace
• Ramon F. Magsaysay (1953-1957) in Philippine Presidents

Background literature

• Allyn C. Ryan: RM: A Biographical Novel of Ramon Magsaysay , Xlibris Corporation, 2007, ISBN 1-4628-1170-1
• Philippines Foreign Policy and Government Guide , Volume 1 Strategic Information and Developments, Lulu.com, 2009, p. 59, ISBN 1-4387-3886-2
• Maria Christine N. Halili: Philippine History , 2nd edition, 2014, pp. 207 ff., ISBN 978-971-23-5636-0
• The big Ploetz. The encyclopedia of world history , Verlag Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 35th edition, 2008, p. 1774, ISBN 978-3-525-32008-2

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz, Christof Hartmann: Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook: Volume II: South East Asia, East Asia, and the South Pacific , OUP Oxford, 2001, ISBN 0-19-924959-8 , P. 226
2. ↑ Elections of 1953 in Philippine Electoral Almanac (pp. 85-89)
3. ↑ Official Month in Review: November 1953 ( Official Gazette of the Government of the Philippines)
4. ^ Norman Thomas Uphoff, Warren Frederick Ilchman: The Political Economy of Development: Theoretical and Empirical Contributions , University of California Press, 1972, pp. 271 ff., ISBN 0-520-02062-6
5. ^ Allyn C. Ryan: RM: A Biographical Novel of Ramon Magsaysay , Xlibris Corporation, 2007, ISBN 1-4628-1170-1 , p. 217
6. ↑ Jesus Lava was arrested ten years later in May 1964 in a house on P. Leoncio Street, Manila.
7. ↑ Benedict J. Kerkvliet: The Huk Rebellion: A Study of Peasant Revolt in the Philippines , University of California Press, 1977, ISBN 0-520-03106-7