MAGSAYSAY DAY: August 31 2024 declared holiday in Zambales
The country will be commemorating the 117th birth anniversary of the late former President Ramon Magsaysay this August 31. The day, which this year falls on a Saturday, is a special non-working holiday in his home province of Zambales.
This is mandated in Republic Act 7792, which took effect during the administration of then-President Fidel V. Ramos in 1994. It must be noted though that the law does not cover Olongapo City since it is administered separately from the province as a highly urbanized city.
Often referred to as the “Champion of the Masses,” Magsaysay served as the country’s seventh President. He was elected via landslide over incumbent President Elpidio Quirino during the 1953 elections. However, his term was cut short when Mt. Pinatubo, the plane that was supposed to carry him back to Manila from Cebu, crashed at Mount Manunggal on March 19, 1959.
Magsaysay’s popularity has reached stratospheric heights ever since. Five months after Magsaysay’s death, the United States Postal Service issued a special postage stamp memorializing him as a “Champion of Liberty.” This was released in Washington D.C. on August 31, 1957, the late leader’s 50th birth anniversary.
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