THE Ramon Magsaysay Award is Asia's highest prize, this continent's Nobel. But it is a proudly Filipino institution named after a great president with unquestionable integrity, President Ramon Magsaysay. It used to be awarded mostly by the President of the Philippines every Aug. 31, the birthday of Magsaysay. It was established in April 1957, just a month after Magsaysay died in a plane crash.
Of the 66 presentation ceremonies ever held, I have been able to attend 24 times since 1998. I was a provinciano who became a minor winner of the Magsaysay family's essay writing contest with Museo Pambata. Thus, I got invited to the ceremony. The first Magsaysay awardee I met was President Cory Aquino. I also shook hands with President Fidel Ramos. I saw President Erap Estrada, even future President Noynoy Aquino, Kris and their family. That night, I felt I could touch history.
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