Ramon Banzon Magsaysay Jr. (born June 5, 1938) is a Filipino politician and businessman. He is the son of former

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

President

Ramon Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh president of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an aircraft disaster on March 17, 1957. An automo ...

Early life and career

Magsaysay Jr. was born in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

and Luz Banzon. He is the youngest and the only son among the three children. He was 15 when his father was elected

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and was 18 when his father died in a

plane crash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...

. He attended De La Salle College, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. He pursued post-graduate studies in 1962 at Harvard School of Business Administration in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, and spent another year in New York University Graduate School of Business Administration. In 1960, he worked as an engineer trainee at

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

Philippines. From 1961 to 1962, he was a supervising engineer for operations for

Caltex Caltex is a petroleum brand name of Chevron Corporation used in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and Southern Africa. It is also the brand name of non-Chevron petroleum companies in some countries (such as New Zealand, and previously A ...

Philippines.

Business career

After a productive four-year in Congress representing the lone district of Zambales, he returned to work in the private sector where he ventured into various industries including garment manufacturing and export, semi-conductor, and travel and tourism. Educated in business and engineering skills, Jun pioneered the cable television industry in the country. With over 550 cable operators nationwide at present, the cable TV business spawned a multi-billion broadband industry. In recognition of conceiving the blueprint for the sector, Magsaysay is accepted as ''The Father of Cable Television.'' *1969–1995 Reserve officer, Lt. Jr. Grade, Philippine Navy *1972–1995 Company president, Colorview CATV Inc. *1975–1995 Company president/chairman of the board, RMJ Corp. *1970–1975 Company vice president, Gelmart Industries Phils. Inc. *1978–1985 Company director, Labtech Manufacturing Industries Inc. *1988–1990 Business columnist, Philippine Daily Inquirer *1989–1995 Company president, Cable Communications Inc., *1989–1995 Chairman of the board, Dynatravel Management Corp. *1991–1995 Company president, Country Communications Network Inc. *1994–1995 Chairman of the board, Asian Cable Communications Inc. *2011–2012 Chairman of the board, Legaspi Oil Corp. and co-chairman of the CIIF-Oil Mills Group

Political career

House of Representatives (1965–1969)

In 1965, he was elected as a congressman for the

lone district Lone may refer to: People * Lone (given name), a given name (including a list of people with this name) *Lone (musician), Matt Cutler, an electronic musician from Nottingham, United Kingdom *Lone (surname), a surname (including a list of people w ...

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...

. He was the youngest Congressman to be elected to the Lower House at the age of 27. He only served for one term and after stepping down in 1969, he went back to the private sector.

1992 Vice-Presidential bid

In the 1992 elections, he accepted the offer by Agrarian Reform secretary

Miriam Defensor Santiago Miriam Palma Defensor-Santiago (''née'' Defensor; June 15, 1945 – September 29, 2016) was a Filipino scholar, academic, lawyer, judge, author, and stateswoman who served in all three branches of the Philippine government: judicial, executiv ...

to be her vice presidential candidate under the

People's Reform Party The People's Reform Party ( abbrev. PRP) is a political party in the Philippines. Founded on April 12, 1991, as the political party of former Agrarian Reform Secretary Miriam Defensor Santiago for her bid as president in the 1992 Presidential ...

. Running for the elections and hoping to follow his father's footsteps, he lost to actor

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice presi ...

. He went back to the private sector soon after.

Senator of the Philippines (1995–2007)

In the 1995 elections, President

Fidel Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the List of presidents of the Philippines, 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to ...

invited Magsaysay to join the senatorial slate of the Lakas- Laban Coalition. He won the election and received the third highest vote among the twelve elected senators. In 1996, he was commissioned by the Senate to look for a suitable place to relocate the Senate offices. The building would be renovated as the National Museum would be expanding in time for the Philippine Centennial celebrations in 1998. The Senate session hall and offices found its new home at the GSIS Building in the Financial Center in

Pasay City Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 440,656 people. Due to its location jus ...

. On January 16, 2001, Magsaysay voted in favor of opening the bank envelope containing evidence in the

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

case of President

. The request was overturned by a negative vote that led to the second EDSA People Power Revolution. In the 2001 elections, he was reelected to the senate under the Lakas-NUCD-UMDP party and was affiliated with the

People Power Coalition People Power Coalition (PPC), formerly called "EDSA Forces", was a Philippine administration-based political multi-party electoral alliance in the May 14, 2001 midterm Legislative elections. The coalition was created after the EDSA Revolution of ...

. In the electoral crisis involving President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...

, Magsaysay distanced himself from the ruling party Lakas and joined the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

(LP) then led by Senate President

Franklin Drilon Franklin Magtunao Drilon (born November 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and former politician. He had the longest tenure in the Senate of the Philippines (tied with Lorenzo Tañada, Tito Sotto and incumbent Loren Legarda), having served four ...

. As a legislator, he has co-authored several laws including: * Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001 (RA 9160) * Electronic Commerce Law (RA 8792) * Ban on Hard Surfactants (RA 8970) * Magna Carta for Small and Medium Enterprises (RA 8289) * New Foreign Investments Act (RA 8179) * Mechanical Engineering Law (RA 8495) * Amending the Omnibus Investments Code – Regional Headquarters (RA 8756) * Jewelry Manufacturing Act (RA 8502)

Senate comeback attempt

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, Magsaysay ran for senator under

Team PNoy Team PNoy, formerly known as the LP–Akbayan–NPC–NP–LDP Coalition, was a political umbrella coalition in the Philippines, originally formed to support the administration-backed senatorial line-up for the 2013 Philippine Senate election. Te ...

, the administration coalition. He also received an endorsement from

Makabayan Makabayang Koalisyon ng Mamamayan (Makabayan; ) is a coalition of twelve party-lists in the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It was founded on April 16, 2009. The founding assembly was held at UP Theatre, Diliman, Quezon City. Party-l ...

on May 5, 2013. However, he was unsuccessful, placing 16th, thus outside the Magic 12.

Personal life

Jun, as many people call him, is married to Marie Louise (Marilou) Kahn, and they have no children. However, he had two children from his first marriage with Isabel Delgado (m. October 1964), Margarita and Francisco (Paco), an entrepreneur.

References

External links

Senate of the Philippines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magsaysay, Ramon Jr. 1938 births Living people De La Salle University alumni Senators of the 13th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 12th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 11th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 10th Congress of the Philippines Ramon Jr. People's Reform Party politicians Lakas–CMD (1991) politicians Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians People from Zambales Candidates in the 1992 Philippine vice-presidential election Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Zambales Independent politicians in the Philippines Harvard Business School alumni Children of presidents of the Philippines New York University Stern School of Business alumni