Ramon Magsaysay Essay

Ramon Magsaysay Essay

"Change starts from within." This is a motto that I bear in mind and try to live up to in my everyday routine. I believe that if we want something to happen, we should have self-initiative and must not always rely on other people to do things for us. But making a difference is not a rapid process. It is a gradual progression from the simple changes we make into finally achieving our ultimate goal. This belief of mine, is what made me choose 2002 Magsaysay Awardee for Government Service Hilario G. Davide Jr. as an inspiration in making a difference. I saw in him, the characteristics and makings of a good public servant as well as a person of principles and dignity.

Chief Justice Hilario Davide did not start as a high-ranking official. He was in fact just an ordinary child born in a mountain barrio in Cebu. He even walked barefoot to school as a boy before working his way through the University of the Philippines and finally passing the bar exam in 1959. This clearly shows Davide's perseverance and hard work. It proves we can attain our goals if we work hard enough and exert a little bit more effort in whatever we do. It also shows that poverty is not an obstacle in attaining our goals. Instead of looking at it as an obstacle, we can look at it as a source of motivation for an even better performance.

I can also say that Hilario Davide is one of the most respected personalities here in our country not only because of his government position but also mainly because of his works and achievements. At age 37, he represented Cebu as a delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention. During the Martial Law, he led his fellow Visayans to challenge the dictatorship. In 1978, Davide became an Assemblyman and called an end to the martial law and sponsored bills opposing corruption and promoting electoral reforms. He was also a member of President Corazon Aquino's Constitutional Commission following the People Power Revolution in 1986. He also became head of the Commission on Elections and in 1991 was appointed to the Supreme Court and finally becoming Chief Justice in 1998 under President Joseph Estrada's administration.

Davide's decisions reflected his concern not only for the people but for nature as well. He wrote decisions strengthening the hand of the state against violators of the Philippine environment. In one of the provisions he authored it stated: "The State shall protect and advance the right of people to a balanced and