Ramon “Monching” Magsaysay’s monument in Mt. Manuggal. /Immae Lachica
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama wants to place a plaza and install lights in the area where the plane of the late President Ramon Magsaysay crashed on Mt. Manunggal in Balamban, Cebu on March 17, 1957.
On Sunday, March 17, the Cebu City government, led by Rama, commemorated the 67th death anniversary of Magsaysay and offered a wreath on the late president’s monument in the Plaza Independencia.
In Rama’s message, as quoted by the information office, he told Cebu City Councilor Jun Alcover that the city government “must have a part” in helping Balamban.
“And if the governor wants to help, we should receive it. I should charge (Vice Mayor) Raymond Garcia (to ask her). We must have a Ramon Magsaysay Park-helped by the (Cebu) City Government, our gift to Balamban, and our gift to whole Cebuanos,” Rama said.
Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, who also chairs the Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (CHAC), highlighted in his speech the importance of honoring the “lives of exemplary individuals” who have already left the world.
“One such individual who is worth celebrating is Ramon Magsaysay…His brand of leadership restored in the people trust in the military and the government. Unfortunately, his term was short-lived as his airplane crashed,” Garcia said.
Also present during the ceremony were Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, Cebu City Councilors Joel Garganera, Francis Esparis, and Donaldo “Dondon” Hontiveros.
The department heads were also present in the event and Colonel Erwin Romel Lamzon, head of the Joint Task Group of Cebu sa Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Visayas Command, attended as well.
In 1957, Magsaysay and 26 other passengers, who were in the Douglas C-47 plane called “Mt. Pinatubo” slammed against the slope of Mount Manunggal in Balamban.
Mt. Manunggal is located 39.7 kilometers away from Cebu City via Cebu Transcentral Highway. / with reports from Cebu City News and Information