At a time when awards of all sorts have become dime a dozen, to use the oft-repeated expression, the Ramon Magsaysay Awards takes the plum distinction for being the most prestigious, credible, and respected. To say that it is the Nobel Prize of Asia diminishes its importance because it is no copycat but an original distinction that emphasizes the achievements of outstanding Asians. Besides, gone are those days when everything Stateside or "Euroside" was perceived as always the best. Now, we can stand up to our so-called "White Brothers" and more — we have conquered their worlds as more Filipinos have proven outstanding and exemplary in foreign shores, beating them in their own turf in many fields.
One wonders then what became of the descendants of the great president after whom the Ramon Magsaysay Awards was named. A few years ago, I had a wonderful lunch at the WackWack home of Tita Mila Magsaysay Valenzuela, the Guy's only living daughter and a former public relations director of the Manila Peninsula Hotel, who was in her usual gregarious and warm ways. Just recently, during the series of activities related to the Awards, she once again became visible. There is no doubt she and her brother Ramon Jr. or Jun have lived up to their parents' and this country's expectations, and this, without blowing their own trumpets. The Magsaysays, after all, are never self-important and pompous, but that's not exactly surprising.
Tita Mila's two sons have done well in their calling, Michael Magsaysay Valenzuela as a De La Salle brother and Rafael Magsaysay Valenzuela, a physician, surgeon and Asst. Professor at UERMMMC College of Medicine.
While both are public servants in their own right, Paco Magsaysay, Jun's son, is the entrepreneur of this clan of achievers. Recently, Paco was in the news when he relinquished part ownership of the famous ice cream brand that he founded, Carmen's Best, to the company of the business management legend, Manny V. Pangilinan.
What interests me more, though, is Paco's new role as a grandfather to Tali, daughter of his eldest son, Jaime. I asked him how he felt being a new lolo. Paco replied, "It's great being a Lolo. It's having all the good parts of being a parent, with just a little of the bad. Somebody once said, the best part about being a lolo was being able to enjoy your grandchild and then giving her back to her parents at the end of the day or when she starts being difficult. You have fun without the responsibility. LOL! But it really all boils down to how you raised your own children. They will most likely raise their children based on the example you set."
Tali's attention is not all to himself, though, as her greatgranddaughter, Jun, according to Paco, "has more time for himself now so he gets to visit his great granddaughter quite regularly. I think he visits her more than I do."
As for Tali's father, Paco says, "Jaime is the same kind of father I was to him. And, I'm glad he followed my type of parenting."
Did he give Jaime any tip on how to be a good father? "I tell him not to spoil his daughter. Spoiling her will not make her a better person as she grows up," says Paco, who obviously has followed the good example of the greatest president of the Philippines, referred to by the Filipino people as the "Champion of the Masses."
